Popular York caricature artist Mel Conrad has died
Mike ArgentoMel Conrad was held back in first grade.
While the other kids in his class were learning their letters and numbers, he was drawing.
"He loved to draw," his mother, Margaret Griffin, said. "All he'd do is sit and draw. That was his love."
He was a natural. She would spend hours with him drawing, Conrad taking up the practice as soon as he could hold a crayon or a pencil. Growing up in Williamsport, and later, in Elmira, N.Y., he drew incessantly. He then branched out to painting.
His mother bought him a guitar, and he played music. He asked his mother for a piano, and when she asked him how he expected to learn to play it, he said he could teach himself from what he had learned playing the guitar.
He eventually moved to York and became immersed in the local art scene, a popular caricature artist who plied his trade at art shows, gallery openings, festivals, graduations, proms, you name it.
He was known for his easy-going nature, his laugh and his smile. He always seemed to be in a good mood. He made friends easily and it was not uncommon for people who had no business knowing one another becoming friends through their acquaintance with Conrad.
It came as a shock when Conrad was found dead his York apartment Tuesday morning. The York County Coroner's office said it appears his death was natural and no foul play is suspected, but as is routine in such deaths, a blood sample was sent off for toxicology tests.
Conrad was 57.
His legion of friends took to Facebook to express their shock and sadness.
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One friend, Susan Loveland, had known him for 15 years, and on Tuesday morning, his employer at his day job at Mercury Electronics in Seven Valleys called her to ask about Conrad. He hadn't shown up for work for two days, which was unlike him. Loveland was unaware that Conrad had listed her as his emergency contact at work.
She suggested placing a call to the YMCA to check on Conrad since he had rented his West Market Street apartment from the Y. When someone from the Y went to his apartment, they found his body.
Conrad had, for years, suffered from a hemochromatosis, a genetic blood disorder which causes the body to stockpile too much iron. The malady, which affects more than a million Americans, can result in a variety of complications, from organ and joint damage to death.
Loveland said he would have to go to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda frequently for treatment, which included having blood drawn from his body.
Lately, though, he seemed fine, friends remarked. Until recently. One friend posted on Facebook that he had booked a caricature gig for Sunday, but didn't show up, saying he had a massive headache.
He moved to York in 1997, his mother said. He had been living in Washington, D.C., but decided to move, "because people weren't very friendly there."
Loveland met him through another friend, and they soon became friends, hanging out at First Fridays, going to the movies or dinner. She took photos of him while he was working, and he reciprocated by drawing caricatures at her daughter's birthday party.
He had a "huge" personality, Loveland said. "He was very compassionate, had a great sense of humor, always fun to be around. He had a great smile."
Musician Sabrina Duke met Conrad about seven years ago while attending the same concerts, sharing a love of the local music scene. "He had such a great sense of humor; he didn't take himself too seriously," she said. "He was always able to see the bright side of things."
The amazing thing about him, Duke said, is that he was "in everybody's circle."
"He was the one person on everybody's guest list," she said. "You would invite him to every event or party and hope that he would come."
He was born in Williamsport, the oldest of Griffin's children. His father died when he was very young. The rest of his family is also artistic, his brother a dancer and writer.
But Conrad was a special talent, his mother said.
"He could do it all," she said. "It doesn't seem real that he's gone, does it?"
His mother said his body is returning home to Williamsport and funeral arrangements have yet to be made as of Wednesday morning.
