John Edward “Jed” Mellick, 44

John Edward “Jed” Mellick died peacefully in New Canaan on June 6, 2024, at the age of 44, surrounded by his loving family, after a valiant ten-month battle with glioblastoma.

Jed Mellick

The youngest of four children in a close-knit family, Jed was beloved by his parents and siblings. From his earliest days, Jed loved movies and shows, music, and all things humorous.  He was intrinsically authentic and had an extraordinary gift for making and nurturing friendships. Innumerable friends – from childhood, college, or from his adult life – all consider Jed irreplaceable. Their best friend.  He was always there, for anything and everything. He loved taking long walks with no destination; talking on the phone with friends for hours; hiking Runyon Canyon; playing on city kickball leagues; Broadway shows; oysters and martinis; Notre Dame college football; reading novels; Pride month; Ru Paul watch parties; hip hop and R&B; dance parties; ChapStick; hot yoga; Laguna Beach 4^th of July; and a great pair of sunglasses. Always charming, Jed used abbreviations before they were ever a thing. He was also an extraordinary listener who could see another person and connect deeply. He loved his family and was extremely close with his nieces and nephews. He had a singular ability to bring people together – and to be a catalyst for fun.

Born January 5, 1980, in New Canaan, Jed was the first baby born in town that year – an event noted with a photo and story in The New Canaan Advertiser. A third generation New Canaanite, Jed attended West, Saxe and New Canaan High schools. He played youth baseball on his grandfather’s namesake Mellick Field and varsity basketball at NCHS.  He graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Communication Studies and a minor in Psychology and earned an M.A. in Psychology from Yeshiva University. After graduate school, Jed took stock of his myriad degrees, personal skills, and passions, and decided to try his hand in Hollywood. He bought a car, and drove to LA.

After an assistant job at a movie production company, Jed discovered a script that he felt was worthy of the big screen. In 2015, Jed and partners produced an award-winning, feel-good, comedy called “Fourth Man Out” (tagline: “Friends don’t let friends come out alone”). The film won the Audience Award, Jury Prize, Best Narrative Feature, and more at several festivals. Jed went on to produce (with partners) in Brooklyn, NY, “All These Small Moments”, which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. Resplendent in a blue velvet jacket, Jed left his family and friends in awe during the audience Q&A session.

In 2022, Jed relocated to New York City to be close to family and lifelong friends. Intent on enjoying his loved ones, he implemented monthly lunches with his mom and siblings, and spent many weekends at the beach with his dad in Rhode Island. Devoted to health and fitness, he had embarked on a new career. After deploying a year-long health and wellness program, he evolved it to create Empowered Transformation, an innovative life coaching framework and program. Despite being unable to see the program to its fruition, Jed’s sister joined with his clients and has continued the program he created – yet another testament to Jed’s remarkable ability to inspire others.

Jed was the glue of his family and took great joy in his parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews. He is survived by his father Ed Mellick; his mother Marjory Reilly and husband Walter; his brother Bryan, wife Christina, and their son Max, his sister Merrily and her children Will, Madeleine, Travis and Benji; and his brother Jeff, wife Beatrice, and their children Phoebe, Emmett, Daisy and Dashell. Jed’s passing on June 6 – the anniversary of D-Day – has special significance as his maternal grandfather landed at Normandy during WWII.

The family will hold calling hours in the vestibule of St. Aloysius Catholic Church on Thursday June 13 from 2-2:45pm and the memorial service will begin at 3pm, followed by a family burial. A reception/celebration of Jed’s amazing personality and love of life will be held from 5-8 pm at the Roger Sherman Inn in New Canaan. May Jed’s memory be a blessing and sustain the many of us who are feeling a life-changing loss.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Destin Lab which supports programs for students from modest backgrounds at Jed’s beloved alma mater Northwestern University.

Click here for link to donate: The Destin Lab. Under “fund name”, please designate “in Honor of Jed Mellick.”