Mellita Virginia (Hanten) Pommerich, 81, passed away surrounded by loved ones on April 10 at Assisi Village in Dubuque, Iowa.

Mellita was born at Mercy Hospital in Dubuque on February 27, 1937 to Salome (Walsh) and Raymond Hanten.
Mellita attended St. Joseph’s School in Key West; Immaculate Conception Academy in Dubuque; and Clarke College, where she graduated with honors. She taught elementary school for five years in Rockford, Illinois and Dubuque Public Schools.

On August 22, 1964, Mellita married Robert Pommerich, a Loras College professor, at St. Columbkille Church in Dubuque. After living in Madison, Wisconsin, while Bob was in graduate school, they returned to Dubuque and settled at 1150 Edina Street where they reared four children.

Mellita came from a musical family. She was the drummer in the seven-piece Hanten Family Orchestra, which played for weddings and dances in area venues in the 1950s. She also enjoyed playing the piano, especially by ear, in the company of friends and family. Together she and Bob fostered a love of music in their children. They attended concerts in Dubuque and afar, and they were season ticket holders for the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra (in which their daughter performed). She and the family used to present musical programs in nursing homes. In recent years, Mellita entertained residents and guests at Assisi Village with her broad repertoire on the piano.

In her earlier years, Mellita was active in the Loras Faculty Wives organization and with the Stonehill Care Center Auxiliary. She and Bob enjoyed playing bridge and were regular partners at the Dubuque Area Lifetime Center. Mellita liked traveling to visit her children and their families. She once voyaged by ship to Europe with her mother, and she and Bob especially savored touring in England and Greece (where their son’s family was living).

Mellita is survived by her husband of fifty-three years, Bob, and by four children and five grandchildren: Karen (Mike Hosford) Pommerich of Swannanoa, North Carolina; Jim (Finola Keohane) Pommerich and their children Liam, Tara and Rory, of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Mary (Skip Kadish) Pommerich of Marina, California; and John (Karen Saxer) Pommerich and their children Earl and Raymond, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mellita is survived by four siblings: Geri (Tom) Goodman, Loras (Pat) Hanten, and Dan (the late Barb) Hanten, all of Dubuque; and Gene Hanten of Lodi, California. Mellita also is survived by eleven nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held from 3 PM – 7 PM on Friday, April 13 at Hoffmann Schneider & Kitchen Funeral Home at 3860 Asbury Road. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 AM Saturday, April 14 at Church of the Nativity with Monsignor James Miller presiding. Burial will be at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Key West.

Condolences may be offered at hoffmannschneiderfuneralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Clarke University, the Dubuque Rescue Mission, or the Sisters of St. Francis.

The family would like to thank the staff of Assisi Village and Dubuque Hospice for their kind and compassionate care.