Raised in Cleveland Heights, Mr. Mellman graduated from Shaker Heights High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and an MBA from Fenn College, now Cleveland State University, where he also taught.
During World War II, Jim Mellman served as a staff sergeant with the 83rd Infantry Division and fought in all five of the major battles in Northern Europe: Normandy, Brittany, Central Europe, Ardennes/The Bulge and Rhineland. The division also encountered and liberated the Langenstein concentration camp, and the division flag flies in the honor court of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

James R. Mellman, former deputy director of budget and management and director of health and human services for Cuyahoga County, died recently at age 90. Prior to his those roles, Mr. Mellman served as president of Ohio Cycle and Supply, a toy wholesaler covering northern Ohio, which he founded with his brother-in-law.

Jim Mellman served as chairman of the USO of Northern Ohio and on the national governing council of the USO. He was chairman of the task force of North Central Ohio of the president's Jobs for Veterans Program, and he chaired the Cuyahoga County committee on group homes for children, the committee on integration of service continuum for children, and the Cuyahoga County Agency task force for troubled employees.
Active in the United Way, Jim Mellman's other volunteer roles included serving on the board of trustees of The Temple-Tifereth Israel and of the Hebrew Free Loan Association, where he was chairman two times. He was a member of the Harvard University Schools and Scholarships Committee, and the men's committee at The Cleveland Play House.

James R. Mellman, husband of the late Ruth (Gans) Mellman, died on November 20, 2012, on the age of 90. He was preceded in dead by his wife Ruth. Both are buried at the Mayfield Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio. He is survived by his son, Andrew (Maxine L.), his sister Doris Frankel and two grandchildren.