Obituary
Melody Ivins

Melody (Mel) Lynn Ivins, beloved friend, daughter,
partner, and sister, passed away at the age of 67 in the
early morning hours of March 7, 2023. She left the world
from her own bed in her Chapel Hill home, surrounded
by her feline familiars, her books and her big sister.

Mel was born June 24, 1955, at Elmendorf Air Force Base
in Anchorage, Alaska, before Alaska was a state. A
military brat, she moved around a lot before she
graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a BA in English. She
excelled in the written word as poet, writer, bookseller,
activist, professional researcher, and archivist. She is
known for standing up for social justice, women’s rights,
the poor and the marginalized. With Eva Metzger, her
employer at Carolina Library Services, she founded the
Women’s Book Exchange as a volunteer supported effort
in 1983 “in order to make books by and about women
more readily available to all who need them.” A few
months later, Spring Brooks joined Melody as co-
director. The Duke University Women’s Center, in
accepting the donation of the 1500 volume collection in
1993 from Melody and Spring, stated “the importance of

this gift cannot be overestimated.” Works included
scarce and out of print books from the early Women in
Print Movement.

Concurrently with her volunteer work for the WBE,
Melody managed The Southern Sisters bookstore and
worked at the Readery and then the Regulator
bookstores also in Durham, and later at the Bookshop in
Chapel Hill. She was a researcher and editor for the
historian Tim Tyson, contributing to Blood Done Sign My
Name and The Blood of Emmet Till, and for other
researchers of southern and family history. She was
employed by several other organizations, including the
UNC Law Library and the Piedmont Sundial, an electronic
newspaper.

In later years, Melody resumed writing poetry,
maintaining an active presence on social media and
enjoying a glass of Makers Mark with her friends. Her
true genius was for friendships, for which she invested
love and thoughtful attention for years and even
decades. This can be seen at the very end when her
friends, including Spring Brooks and Phil Catlett, helped
care for Melody’s elderly mother so that she could seek
her own medical treatment. It is evident in her numerous
friends and most of all in her dear companion, Steve

Darden, who was by her side throughout her diagnosis
and treatment for cancer.

Family members:
Predeceased by her father Reynolds Albert Ivins (1988).
Mother Wanda Bess DePriest Ivins of Chapel Hill, NC.

Sister October Ivins lives in Abruzzo, Italy with British
husband William. October is a stepmother to William’s
children, Simon (Deborah) who have Emily and Jack
(NSW, Australia), and Kate (Sholto) with sons Hamish and
Gabriel (Oxford, England).

Brother Ren Ivins, (Sally) of Carrboro, NC. Niece Amber
(Tim), Nephew Reynolds (Keri), great-niece Violet.

Brother Jeffrey Ivins with his wife Jo Ann (Jody) of
O’Fallon, IL.
Brother Jonathan (Jon) Ivins, (Belinda) and niece
Alexandra (Alex) of Morrison, TN, and niece Lela (Andy)
and grandnephew Teddy of Clarksville, TN.

Melody had requested that she should have a cremation,
which will be handled by City of Oaks Funeral Home, and
her ashes interred in the Cooper DePriest Memorial

Cemetery between her father and the space designated
for her mother on Deer Creek, Perry County, TN. It is on
land formerly part of Foxfire, the home her parents built
together with their own hands, and where Melody
enjoyed recharging with gardening, stargazing, exploring
the woodland, and finding arrowheads. The Celebration
of Life is planned for April 15.

Friends and family in the Chapel Hill area will celebrate
Melody’s life and many friendships on Sunday March 19,
3- 5 pm, at Linda’s Bar & Grill.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to UNC
Hospice or the charity of your choice.