Cloudy, 27° F
Melba I. Sweet, 90, passed away peacefully at the Powell Valley Care Center on Sunday, March 24, 2019.
She was born on May 17, 1928, in Greenfield, Illinois, to Douglas J. Cunningham and Erma Plogger Cunningham.
The family moved to Wyoming in 1937. Melba attended Powell schools and graduated from cosmetology school in Billings, Montana. Melba was a member of the Southern Baptist Church and enjoyed her time at weekly Bible study.
Melba married Richard (Dick) B. Sweet on June 4, 1946. They farmed north of Powell, where they eventually lived and raised their five children.
She owned and operated Sweet Beauty Salon until she retired in her late 70s. She also did hair at the Rocky Mountain Manor and Heartland Assisted Living for many years.
She was a member of the North End Club. In her free time, Melba enjoyed sewing, cooking, baking, gardening, canning and crochet. Everyone remembers the fantastic meals she prepared and the delicious baked goods she whipped up whenever anyone came to visit. Her family was her life. She was loved by everyone and will be dearly missed.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Kenneth Cunningham, and her husband of 51 years, Dick Sweet.
Melba is survived by her children Gary (Laura), Ron (Laurie), Steve (Linda), Doug (Jolene) and Judy (Bill) Banner, as well as 36 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Other survivors include her sister Doris Edgar and her brother-in-law and sisters-in-law, Raymond and Alice Cooley and Ruth Cooley. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
A viewing will be held Friday, March 29, from 6-7:30 p.m. at Thompson Funeral Home, 111 W. 3rd St. Funeral services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at the Southern Baptist Church, 700 E. Madison St. in Powell.
Pallbearers will be her grandsons Travis Sweet, Tracy Sweet, Chris Sweet and Kevin Sweet, and her great-grandsons Matthew Sweet and Alex Sweet. Interment will be at Crown Hill Cemetery, followed by a celebration of her life at the Elks Club on Clark Street in Powell.
Condolences may be sent online to thompsonfuneral.net or any family member. Memorials may be sent to your favorite charity.
