Melba L. Huch of Falls Church, Virginia, formerly of Wine Hill and Chester, Illinois, slipped away peacefully in her sleep at home with family at her side in the wee hours of Independence Day morning, July 4, 2025, at the age of 93.

She was born Melba Louise Smith in rural Perry County, Illinois, on August 19, 1931, to Pauline Frances (Gruber) and Clarence James "Jim" Smith.  She grew up about a quarter-mile west of the old store and attended grade school in the one-room schoolhouse in the village of Denmark. She attended high school in Campbell Hill for three years, where she met her soulmate and future husband.  When three counties consolidated, forming Trico High School, Melba was a member of its first graduating class in 1949 and was also Trico's very first Homecoming Queen.

Melba was confirmed in the Lutheran faith and married the love of her life, Erwin Henry Huch, on June 9, 1950, at Peace Lutheran Church in Steeleville with the Rev. Edwin Belter officiating.  Melba faithfully supported her husband through four years in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, followed by four years of pharmacy school.  They bought a drugstore in Chester in 1963, Huch Rexall Drugs, and ran it together for 18 years.  In 1981, Melba went to work with her husband again in the pharmacy at Chester Memorial Hospital, from which she retired in 1992.  She did home care work for about 10 years after that before fully retiring in 2003.  She and Erwin enjoyed their golden years together on the "Huch Pharm" in rural Wine Hill, which was the site of many happy family reunions over the decades.

Melba and Erwin had two children in the mid-1960s: a son, Scott Erwin; and a daughter, Jodi Lee.  Scott moved to Washington, D.C., following college to work in the field of political fundraising.  After her husband's death in 2010, Melba moved into her own condominium unit in the same building with her son, who looked after and cared for her for 15 years.  Meanwhile, Jodi made her way to Broussard, Louisiana, where she was devoted to her family and home until her sudden and untimely death in 2018.

Melba Huch was preceded in death by both of her parents, her husband, and her daughter.  She is survived by her son, Scott and his spouse Julio, of Falls Church, Virginia; and a son-in-law Ken Durio, a grandson Michael Durio and his wife Amanda, and two great-grandchildren, Lillian Lou Durio, age 10, and Jett Michael Durio, age 8, all of Broussard, Louisiana; along with many other family, friends, and neighbors from all over the world.  At the time of her death, Melba Huch was the oldest living member of St. Peter Lutheran Church—Wine Hill, and she considered "the little white church on the hill" her home church to the very end.

Melba Huch was an old school homemaker.  She took great pride in keeping a clean, beautiful home, and she was an incredible home cook — her "Southern Illinois Dumplings" were legendary — and she shared her recipe for that and other favorite dishes with friends she made in every place that she lived.  Nothing in her life was squandered.  Melba used her life to serve her husband, her children, her family, and her friends.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Wilson's Funeral Home in Steeleville, Illinois.  The family will receive callers there on Monday evening, July 14, from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m., and again the next morning starting at 11:00 a.m., followed by her funeral service starting at noon on Tuesday, July 15, with burial to follow at Evergreen Cemetery in Chester, where Melba will be laid to rest next to her beloved husband of nearly 60 years.  In lieu of flowers, it was Melba's wish that memorials be directed to St. Peter Lutheran Church—Wine Hill and can be mailed to Wilson's Funeral Home, P.O. Box 217, Steeleville, IL 62288.