Joseph "Joey" Michael Melton

Joseph (Joey) Michael Melton, 48, of Mont Belvieu passed away October 16, 2021 at his residence. Joey was born August 18, 1973 in Newport News, VA. to parents Robert F. Melton and Phyllis Reese Melton.

Joey grew up in Bay City, Texas and graduated from Bay City High School in 1991. Joey was a gifted athlete and played all sports including football, basketball and track but his favorite was playing baseball. Upon graduation, Joey enlisted in the U.S. Army and referred to his time in the military as one of his proudest achievements. Upon completing basic training and graduating as an Honor Graduate in the top ten percent of his class, Joey served 3 of his 4 years overseas in Germany and loved the experience. He was discharged in 1995 with the rank of Private First Class with many awards including Army Service Ribbon, The Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge and Marksman Badge Rifle Award.

Joey met his wife, Sheila, in 1996 in Baytown. She was the love of his life, they married on October 16, 1999, were married for 22 years and had 3 children. They did everything together and enjoyed taking road trips for softball tournaments, staying up late watching tv and hanging out with their friends. Shortly after they married, they moved to Mont Belvieu and loved raising their children there.

Joey loved sports! He loved ball and played, coached, listened to, watched or discussed sports everyday of his life. He was an avid sports memorabilia/autograph collector and enjoyed going to autograph shows. He had an incredible sports memory and his ability to recall stats, numbers and highlights was amazing. His favorite teams were the Atlanta Braves, Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Rockets.

Joey’s pride and joy were his 3 children, Haley, Ryan and Abby. He was always a very involved dad and coached all of them in softball, baseball and football. He never missed a game and was always their loudest supporter in the stands! He was so proud to call all of them his kids and took time everyday to talk to them and ask them about school, athletics or work.

Joey discovered one of his greatest passions in life, coaching softball, when he started coaching his oldest daughter in little league. He coached fastpitch softball passionately for 20 years and was very proud to be part of the Bombers Fastpitch Organization. Joey was loved by everyone and had special memories and relationships with the many friends he made on and off the field.

Joey worked as a Process Operator for ExxonMobil for 16 years and volunteered on the Fire Team and HazMat Team during this time. He loved his Fire Team and HazMat Team brothers and still kept up with many of them. He later worked as a Safety Supervisor and enjoyed working for Randall’s Distribution Warehouse and Targa Resources in this line of work.

Joey was preceded in death by brother, Bobby Davenport; grandparents, Lois and Jack Reese, Doris and Joe Tharp; aunt, Jo Ann Ricks; stepfather, Fairl Turnage.

He leaves behind to cherish his memory, his wife of 22 years, Sheila Melton; children, Haley, Ryan, Abby Melton; brother, Rob Melton and wife Dia; sister, Alecia Patranella and husband Jason; mother, Phyllis Melton; father, Robert F. Melton and wife Jane; step-sister, Michele Hill and husband Chris; step-brother, Rob Haase and wife Melissa; Mother-in-law, Linda Gray; Father-in-law, Walter (Hotshot) Gray and wife, Darlene; Brother-in-law, Kyle Gray; nieces and nephews, Cheyanne, Taylor, Chrystal, James, Bradley and Camryn; numerous other family members and friends.


His family will receive friends and family Wednesday, October 27, 2021 from 5:00 pm til 8:00 pm at Pace-Stancil Funeral Home in Dayton. Service will be 11:00 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, at Second Baptist Church in Baytown. Burial will be 9:15 a.m., Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, at the Houston National Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Andre Ballard, Joe Blackmon, Hunter Gobert, Rob Melton, Rob Mooneyham, and Adam Reddy. Honorary pallbearer will be Randy Black.

Please leave your thoughts and prayers for Joey's family at Pace-Stancil Funeral Home & Cemetery | Cleveland, Dayton & Coldspring, TX Funeral Home & Cremation