Melbourne C. "Mel" Garland, 80, of 1117 E. Margaret St., Ironwood, Mich., died Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, at Court Manor Health and Rehabilitation Center in Ashland, following a brief illness.      He was born March 8, 1929, in Ironwood, son of the late Charles and Ruth (Rylander) Garland, attended Central Grade School, and graduated from Luther L. Wright High School in 1947. He worked on ore boats on the Great Lakes for two seasons, then attended the Aeronautical University in Chicago where he became a licensed airline mechanic.      Mel was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951, serving stateside as a crew chief in the 30th Engineers in San Francisco during the Korean War.      Following his discharge as a corporal in 1953, he worked for the Ford Aircraft Engine Division in Chicago in field service as a representative at various Air Force bases, then as a field representative for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft out of Hartford, CT.  He was sent to K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in Gwinn, Mich. to set up the maintenance program there, and was employed at Northwest Airlines for 26 years in Minneapolis as director of maintenance, retiring in 1988 and returning to Ironwood.       Mel was a  member of the Church of the Transfiguration-Episcopal in Ironwood, where he served as Deacon and was currently Senior Warden, and was also a member of the Northwest Airlines Management Club. He loved woodworking and all high school sports.      He was married to the former Joyce C. Dudra on Nov. 25, 1950, in Chicago. She survives.      Also surviving are a son, Richard (Sharon), Minnetonka, Minn.; two grandchildren, Kristin Garland and Katherine (Eric) Brandel, both of Minnetonka; a great-grandson, Finnegan Brandel; a stepsister, Lorraine Trombley, Ironwood; and numerous nieces and nephews.      Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Margery Perkins.      In accordance with Mel's wishes, cremation has taken place.      A memorial service will be held Monday, Dec. 28, at 11 a.m., at the Church of the Transfiguration-Episcopal, with the Rev. Manuel Padilla officiating.      Committal will take place at the church, with luncheon to follow in the church annex.      Spring inurnment will be in Riverside Cemetery, Ironwood.      Relatives and friends may call at the church one hour prior to the service on Monday, Dec. 28.      In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Church of the Transfiguration-Episcopal Memorial Fund, 336 E. Aurora St., Ironwood, MI 49938.      To view Mel's obituary online, sign the guestbook and express condolences, visit mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com.      Arrangements are entrusted to McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Ironwood.