Old Friends’ Stories of Their Father Will Be Lasting Legacy For Robert Melton’s Daughters
Former CD City Editor Suffered Brain Damage After Heart Attack

By MIKE VITEZ
College Topics Staff Writer
In September 2003, former Cavalier Daily City Editor Robert H. Melton was working at his office in Richmond when he felt chest pains—what he thought were the repercussions of a bad salami sandwich at lunch.
A reporter for The Washington Post, he walked across the street to the VCU hospital where he learned his indigestion was, in fact, a heart attack.
Tragically, less than a week later, Melton, 48, suffered a much more severe heart attack that left him in a coma for three days and caused permanent brain damage. Today, he is living in Brighton Gardens, an assisted living facility in Richmond, just eight minutes away from his wife and two young daughters.
Melton, who graduated from the University of Virginia in 1979, suffered extensive memory loss, both short and long term. For instance, said his wife Page, he knows he went to Virginia, but can’t remember much about his experiences there.
Over 6 feet-4 and whip-thin, Melton was a model reporter and demanding editor at The Cavalier Daily. In 21 years at The Washington Post, Melton set the standard for political coverage on the metro staff. He covered the District, Maryland and Virginia, giving him a unique perspective to combine with his well-known passion for the job.
“He had a matchless set of contacts,” said Jo-Ann Armao, assistant managing editor for local news at the Post. “He had a real sense of history not only of Virginia but the region. He was so smart and thoughtful. He really elevated our coverage.”
Melton, a native Northern Virginian, served as city editor of The Cavalier Daily in his third-year at Virginia. His older brother, Dusty, had previously served as editor-in-chief.
“The big thing I remember about Robert is how enthusiastic he’d be about any good story,” said George Rodrigue, Cavalier Daily editor in 1977-’78 and now managing editor of the Dallas Morning News. “He’d just get electrified. He’d get a goofy grin and start typing, and you could almost see the steam rising all around him, he was so powered by what he was doing.”
“I think Robert made a real difference at the CD and at the University,” said Robert Godec, who shared the job of city editor with Melton and is now deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. “He worked hard, played fair and did what all great reporters try to do: report the truth and let people judge.”
In 2002, Melton broke his biggest story at the Post when he reported that S. Vance Wilkins Jr., speaker of the Virginia House, had paid $100,000 to a 26-year-old Amherst, Va., woman to settle her complaint that he had repeatedly made advances toward her. Wilkins, who spent 26 years climbing to that important post, resigned from the Assembly within a week.
“His coverage was fair and balanced and, as with so many things that Robert did, his reporting set the agenda for the rest of the state,” Armao said.
He was nominated that year for a Pulitzer in beat reporting.
Two days after his first heart attack, VCU doctors implanted a stent to relieve a clogged artery, a routine procedure.
A few days later, at home feeding his daughters lunch in the kitchen, he suffered the second, major heart attack. The oxygen deprivation severely damaged his brain, and he spent three days in a coma.
“He had very early on what appeared to be a promising recovery,” said Page, a University of Virginia graduate (maiden name Boinest) who first met her husband in Richmond when she was working as a reporter for UPI. “We took a lot of hope in that.”
Melton’s condition improved, but eventually plateaued. One of the ways he compensates for his memory loss is by constantly writing things down in a reporter’s notebook, which he carries with him always, Page said.
He also loves to email friends and family as a record of his activities, she said.
After the devastating injury, the outpouring of support from Washington Post staffers, sources and old friends was overwhelming, said Page. “People were just pulling for us,” she added. “You could almost feel it. It was a physical force.”
Staff members of the Post contributed over $25,000 to a college fund for Melton’s daughters, Hopie and Nell, ages 5 and 3, and the newspaper matched the contributions with another $25,000.
One of the greatest gifts from friends and colleagues, said Page, has been letters and emails remembering and recounting stories about Robert. These will be a wonderful way for the girls to learn about their father’s accomplishments and contributions when they are older. Page said old friends are encouraged to write or visit.

How to Contact the Meltons
Robert is at rhmelton@verizon.net. Page is at PBMelton@aol.com.
Brighton Gardens is located at 1800 Gaskins Road, Richmond, Va., 23233.