Melvin was born October 29, 1939 in Oak Harbor, Washington to parents Bud and Ava Kingma. Melvin graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1959 and was a Washington State Wrestling Champion in 1959.

Upon graduation, Melvin moved to Seattle and joined the Carpenters Local Union 1289 as an apprentice and worked in the construction industry as a Carpenter and Superintendent for ECI Construction until he retired in 1999.

Melvin was an avid outdoorsman and loved to fish and hunt. A couple of his most memorable adventures were a trip to Mexico with his sons for Marlin fishing and outwitting a Grizzly Bear in Alberta Canada on a trip with his younger brother.

Melvin passed away peacefully in his sleep Monday morning, June 27th. He is survived by three sons, Michael Kingma (April), Scott Kingma (Melissa), and Shawn Kingma. He has six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother and has four remaining siblings.

A celebration of his life will be held in the future.