

Several weeks ago, I received a message that Florence would like me to call her in Florida. She was writing an article about her "Communiteen" educational program for high school students in Columbus and wanted my assistance. By the time I picked up the phone to call her, her son Gordy informed me that she had gone into a hospice program. I didn't get to have that conversation with her, but I will be certain to make sure her article is published.
May the legacy of Florence Melton continue to be a source of inspiration and blessing for all who knew her. May her lifetime of work for Jewish learning continue to bear fruit for generations to come.
From the Columbus Dispatch
Florence Zacks Melton, successful inventor, entrepreneur, philanthropist and advocate for Jewish education, died tonight in Florida. She was 95.
Melton, formerly of Grandview Heights, had been living in Boca Raton, Fla., for the past couple years and had taken ill recently.
Born in Philadelphia to Russian immigrants, Melton grew up too poor to have dolls, she once said, so instead she imagined.
That creativity sparked practical inventions such as foam-rubber slippers and innovative Jewish education programs.
At R.G. Barry Corp., which she co-founded in 1947 with her first husband, Aaron Zacks, Melton invented a type of women's shoulder pad that snapped into a bra strap, simplifying a popular fashion item of that era.
She also created a line of chair pads, adjustable car seat covers and neck pillows. A few years later, R.G. Barry would take off after the idea for foam-rubber slippers came to her.
By 1980, R.G. Barry was the world's largest producer of comfort footwear. Her son, Gordon Zacks, was CEO at the time.
Several years after Aaron Zacks died, Florence married Samuel M. Melton. Together they helped establish Ohio State's Melton Center for Jewish Studies in 1976, and also spearheaded other charitable efforts geared mainly toward education.
In 1980, she developed a two-year adult Jewish literacy program affiliated with Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Today, the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, as it is known, operates in more than 70 communities in North America and Australia. Melton was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1994. She was preceded in death by both husbands and son, Barry Zacks. She is survived by son Gordon Zacks of Bexley.
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