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She was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints July 31, 1937.
Melva was full of energy. She loved animals, especially horses. When she was young she rode her horse in all the parades in the area. She would call her sister, Birdie, and tell her she needed a horse blanket in certain colors and Birdie would make it for her. The next year she would need another one in different colors. Sometimes Birdie made her western shirts in the colors to match the blankets.
Melva never liked to sew, so whenever she would come to visit Birdie she always brought her mending and clothes for buttons and zippers with her to be fixed.
She married Harold Dan (Mick) McConlogne when she was quite young. They bought a place in Hayward with plenty of room to raise horses. She raised, trained and rode show horses in parades and competitions. She always had a couple of dogs, usually German Shepherds. She would have them trained for guard dogs. No one could get near her dogs except her. She had a horse and her dogs for a long time and later she adopted some stray cats and cared for the mother cat and her babies.
She also played the 5-string banjo and organ. Mickey seemed to be a happy go lucky type of fellow, friendly to everyone. They had two beautiful children: Harold Dan (Danny) born September 30, 1946, in Oakland, California, baptized into LDS Church October 26, 1956, and Terry Ann born August 12, 1948 in Oakland and was baptized the same day as Danny. Danny was killed in a motorcycle accident when in his early twenties and Terry Ann married and had a son, Melvin, whom Melva loved very much. Terry Ann died in 1996.
Melva and Mickey parted company and went their own way. She knew she was now the support for her family and started studying dental books and became a self-taught dental nurse. The dentist she worked for gave her on the job training.
She met Edward Manning in the late 1960's and they were married on February 13, 1971. They lived in San Leandro near Birdie for a short time. Melva and Birdie made jam together.
Melva continued to work and the dentist she worked for sent her to school to be trained as a Dental Surgical Nurse. She graduated from Physicians and Surgeons in San Francisco as a surgical nurse. She also worked as a dental assistant and discovered that the death of small children deeply affected her.
In 1972, they moved to Portland, Oregon. Eddie worked there and so they bought a home in Portland. Melva continued to work. She became board certified in Oregon and began working at Crippled Children's Hospital as a surgical dental assistant, working with cleft pallet children until she retired.
Her grandson, Melvin, and she were very close. She loved him very much and he knew it. It was a very close relationship, especially after his mother died in the early 1990's.
After Melva retired, Eddie and she raised two horses, Buhdon and Fancy. She kept fit looking after the horses. On vacations Ed and Mel enjoyed fishing and camping in the state of Oregon. She supported Ed in his many activities – prospecting, working on cars and scrapping metal. They received an auto dealership license and Mel would buy cars at auction and then sell them a few weeks later. Many of Ed's family remember the vacations that they spent with Ed and Mel in Oregon.
Melva always wanted to come home to California. She was happy to be with her father and sisters as they visited Hawaii. It brought back many family memories.
She was a strong willed and independent person. Always clearly defining right and wrong and metering out justice as needed. SHE WAS A LADY!
Her husband, Ed, sent the following message to those who attended her funeral and friends. "I would like to thank you for your support. We were fortunate to be able to spend our last months, days, hours and moments together. Everyone's thoughtfulness was overwhelming. Your friendship meant a lot to us. Sincerely, Ed Manning".
Ed told one of the family members at the funeral, "I loved her with all my heart. She was a good wife to me and oh, how I will miss her. I did the very best I could for her. She suffered a long time, and I made sure I was there to help her".
Her grandson, Melvin, got leave from the army in Germany, and sat during the funeral with tears streaming down his eyes. He told a relative, "She was so good to me, I loved her with all my heart". Melvin is married and has two children: Jason and a daughter. Melva's influence will be remembered many times as he raises them.