Melva Jean Barger

Melva Jean Barger, of Malden, Pennsylvania, passed away at home on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at the age of 89. She was with her two daughters, Tina and Kathy, who took care of her in her final months.

Melva, the eldest of three children, was born on February 18, 1937, to Natale D. Cecchini and Kathryn M. Cecchini of Millsboro, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Bethlehem Joint High School in 1955, and then attended Penn Commercial, where she studied to be a secretary. Ultimately, life in a big city did not agree with Melva, and she returned to live with her parents until she married Charles Barger in 1956.

Like many women of her generation, Melva became a homemaker after she and Charles welcomed their first child, Tina, in June of 1957. Kathy, their second and last child, followed three years later. While motherhood kept her busy, Melva always made time to teach herself new skills. She was, to put it mildly, not a woman with idle hands. Throughout her life, she taught herself to crochet, attended ceramics classes, and was a masterful baker and cook. Melva was generous with her time and skills, baking cookies for the weddings of friends and neighbors; crocheting blankets for her friends’ newborn grandchildren; and baking so many loaves of homemade bread that her husband would then deliver to their friends in his pickup truck.

Melva and Charles were married for 67 years and had two children, Tina and Kathy Barger, both of Washington, Pennsylvania, and several dogs, all of whom were beloved and lucky recipients of Melva’s cooking and crocheting skills. Melva was a doting and beloved grandmother of Tina's two children, Katy Sosnak, who lives in Oregon with her husband, Konstantinos Goulas, and their two daughters, Amalia and Leda; and Michael Sosnak, lives in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Rachel, and their two daughters, Sophia and Elena. All of Melva’s great-grandchildren were lucky to have met her.

Melva was predeceased by her husband, Charles, and by her younger brother, Natale Cecchini. She is survived by her youngest sister, Kay Minerd, of California, Pennsylvania.

At Melva’s request, all funeral arrangements are private and under the direction of the John B. Greenlee Funeral Home Ltd. 2830 Main St. Beallsville, PA. She will be reunited with her dear husband, Charles, whom she missed dearly these past three years, when her ashes are added to the family urn. An online guestbook is available.