Obituary of Mel Tolbert

Mel Tolbert, age 79, died on Sunday, April 2, 2017, the result of an auto-pedestrian accident in downtown Colorado Springs on March 28. He was the owner of Platte Floral.Melvin Harry Tolbert was born on August 31, 1937 in Elmira, New York to the late Jessie and Josephine (Ketchum) Tolbert. He grew up in Elmira, New York and graduated from high school there in 1961. He joined the Army and later, the Peace Corps, where he trained Brazilian farmers in horticulture. He was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin in Madison where he studied Agriculture.He and a friend taught floral management and advertising at the University of Ohio in extension classes. He soon began working in joint venture flower shop where he met his wife, Dianna Lynn Riskey. They married on September 28, 1968 in Madison and worked for a time together in Floral Design and Sales.In 1979, they sold their investment properties and moved to Colorado Springs to purchase Platte Floral. He loved to work in the flower shop and greenhouses and will be remembered for his devotion to the flower business and his community generosity.He was a world traveler and visited six continents and seventy-five countries. He enjoyed exotic lands, unusual tours, and river cruises. He was also a floral expert for the International Floral Expo in the European Union. His travels also took him back to Brazil where he witnessed what his previous work in the Peace Corps had done for agriculture in the regions he worked with.Mel will also be remembered for his benevolence work . . . the Ronald McDonald House, the Debutante Ball, and the various churches he provided flowers and plants for. He was a member of the Registry and the Prospectors Club in Colorado Springs.He is survived by his wife, Dianna; and his brothers, Vernon Tolbert of Elmira, New York, Irving "Dutch" (Rose) Tolbert of Horseheads, New York, and Frank (Shirley) Tolbert of Remsen, New York. He is also survived by his father-in-law, Carroll Sorensen of Colorado Springs; and his sisters-in-law, Sharon (Tom) Miller of Crane Hill, Alabama, and Sandra (Jim) Simmons of Cumming, Georgia. He has seventeen nieces and nephews, and was preceded in death by his brothers, Giles Tolbert and Alton Tolbert. Memorial Services will be held at 1:30PM, Friday, April 7, 2017 at First Christian Church, 16 East Platte Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903.Flowers are welcomed and appreciated.Funeral Home:The Springs Funeral Services3115 East Platte AvenueColorado Springs, , COUS 80909 Events Service Friday, April 7, 2017 1:30PM First Christian Church 16 East Platte Avenue Colorado Springs,, CO 80903 Phone: 719-328-1793