Patricia ("Tricia") C. Melgaard, 58, of Tulsa, passed from this life on October 2, 2015, after a four and half year battle with cancer. Tricia was born July 17, 1957, the third of four children, to William O. and Martha L. (Roberts) Iott in Oklahoma City.
Tricia was raised primarily in Tulsa and while growing up had many wonderful memories of camping with her family and friends in Colorado during the summers. After her parents bought a small vacation home in Buena Vista, Colorado, winter skiing and white Christmases became a part of her life.
After graduating from Memorial High School in Tulsa in 1975, she attended Florida College where she received an Associate in Arts degree in 1977. After working in Florida for a while, her adventurous spirit took over and she moved to Germany where she lived and worked for over a year. While in Germany, she discovered her passion for travel and traveled extensively throughout Europe during that time. Over the years, she traveled to over 25 countries.
She eventually returned to Tulsa and began working on her degree in elementary education. After going to school full-time during the day by commuting to Stillwater and working full-time at night, she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Oklahoma State University in 1993. During that time, she met the love of her life, Robert Melgaard, and they were married in Tulsa on January 4, 1992.
Tricia's fifth grade teacher had instilled in her a passion for reading, and in 2000 she received a Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Oklahoma. Armed with that passion and degree, she became a middle school librarian at Central Middle School in Broken Arrow, which later became Centennial Middle School, for many years until her retirement. While a librarian, Tricia touched the lives of thousands of young students and did her best to turn them into life-long readers. In 2006, Tricia became a National Board Certified Teacher in Library Media/Early Childhood through Young Adulthood.
She was a faithful and active member of Woodland Hills Church of Christ for many decades and put God first in her life. Her infectious smile, kind heart and zest for life will be sorely missed.
Tricia was preceded in death by her mother, Martha Iott, her father-in-law, Jim Melgaard, and her grandparents. Those left to cherish her memory include: husband Robert, of 23 years; father Bill Iott, Auburn, Kansas; brothers Bill Iott, Jr. and his wife Margaret of Plano, Texas, David Iott and his wife Debra of San Francisco, and Steve Iott and his wife Betsy of Forney, Texas; mother-in-law Alice Melgaard of Yankton, South Dakota; sister-in-law Mindy Bruxvoort and her husband Marlin of Edmond, Oklahoma; and nieces and nephews Nick, Mike, Lora, Kara, Julie, Sara, Samantha, Mary, Bryan, Jamie and Kristen.
A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at Fitzgerald Southwood Colonial Chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to Centennial Middle School Library/Media Center, 225 E. Omaha, Broken Arrow, OK 74012 and Hospice of Green Country, Inc., 1120 S. Boston, Suite 200, Tulsa, OK 74119.

Fitzgerald Southwood Colonial Chapel, 918-291-3500