Former resident of Harbor Springs and business owner Erdie Melotti passed away peacefully on Friday, June 14, 2019 surrounded by family in Niagara on-the-Lake. Erdie was born on September 15, 1920 shortly after the family arrived from Italy. In 1921, Giovanni and Marietta returned to Le Marche, a beautiful region in central Italy where Erdie was baptized and the family remained for three years before returning to the United States. The family settled in Oakwood Village, home to a large community of Italian immigrants near Detroit.

In 1937, Erdie met her future husband, Dante Melotti, an Italian immigrant from Casale Monferrato, a picturesque town in northern Italy near the Italian Alps. On April 23, 1940, Dante and Erdie were married at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church in Detroit, Michigan. The newlyweds enjoyed the popular swing and jazz clubs. Before marrying Dante, Erdie sang at a popular neighborhood nightclub in Oakwood Village, a gathering place for the local Italian community.