Roll Call Tribute

Troy Marceleno 

October 1, 1937 - December 5, 2025 

“The most important thing is to have fun, maintain your facilities, and always put humanity first. After all, there are over 8 billion people on this earth, and we have a responsibility to their future… Also, always put God at the center of everything you do… If you do that, everything will work out just fine.” -Troy Marceleno

In the early hours of December 5th, 2025, Captain Troy Marceleno peacefully departed this earth to be with his Lord and Savior after a brief sickness and remarkable life journey. Throughout his lifetime, Marceleno never knew a stranger. His work ethic, strength, and kindness valiantly governed his 88-year-long stride, leaving a positive impression wherever he went or traveled. There wasn’t a room Troy entered without making a new friend or acquaintance, which remained the arching theme of his life.

Through his distinguished career as a public servant, volunteer work, and efforts raising a family of six children, including Stevie, Michelle, Laura, David, Kathy, and Arthur, along with his beloved wife of 68 years, Melinda, his legacy proudly lives on through his family and nine grandchildren, including Scotty, Melissa, Brooke, Jackson, Chase, Matthew, Travis, Sophia, and Olivia.

Born the oldest son of Sarah and Marcelino Marceleno on October 1st, 1937, Troy thrived as a child in West Dallas, showing considerable talent for academics from an early age, only matched by his ambition and zest for life. Guided by his beloved uncle Arthur, as a young boy, he maintained one of the largest paper routes in Dallas, an accomplishment he often reflected upon as the first of many lifetime achievements. From a young age, his father, a musician and grocer, and mother, a homemaker, shaped Troy into following Christ along with his younger brother, Bobby, and four sisters, Pauline, Francis, Modesta, and Anita. Troy adored his parents and siblings and hosted large Christmas parties for his family for many years.

After graduating valedictorian of N.R. Crozier Tech High School in 1955, Troy received a scholarship to Texas A&M University to study engineering. Following in the footsteps of his uncle Aurthur, Marceleno joined the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets, eventually going on to design the Corps Brass insignia still awarded to cadets today. During his time in the Corps, Troy both learned and embodied the meaning of discipline, honor, and service to one’s country.

During this time Marceleno also put his acquired engineering skillset to the test, working summers for the Texas Highway Department helping to design I-35 from Dallas to Denton, among other projects, while gaining immeasurable experience in the field of engineering.

In March of 1957, Troy married his longtime girlfriend, Melinda, and the young couple welcomed their first child, Stevie, in May of 1958, followed by Michelle in 1960. Shortly after the birth of his daughter, he graduated from Texas A&M University and received his first commission from the United States Military.

Following graduation, in 1961, the Marceleno family moved to Washington, D.C., a memory Marceleno fondly recalled, commenting on the beauty of witnessing the January snowfall on the National Mall shortly after watching John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech.

Troy was tasked with updating and compiling data regarding wastewater treatment facilities relating to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1956. He later recalled the information as being both redundant and outdated, most of it dating back to the Works Progress Administration. Marceleno successfully updated and translated data from sound reels into visual graphics, distilling complicated statistical information, better signifying important changes that were needed in updating health codes regarding wastewater and pollution management.

Marceleno’s initial success led to further commissions and positions with the U.S. Public Health Service, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the State Department, and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and directly working with the office of Senator Robert F. Kerr of Oklahoma, helping resolve difficult environmental, industrial, and public health problems, both in the United States and Latin America.

It was also during this time that the Marceleno family once again expanded with the births of Laura, David, Kathy, and Aurthur. As Troy’s public works often required the family to relocate, the family moved from Washington, D.C. to Kansas City, Cleveland, Las Vegas, and Portland.

By 1972, Troy was working with the EPA, serving as a consultant in occupational health and safety and as a volunteer of the National Safety Council. In this role, Troy helped develop policies that saved countless waste management personnel, endangered by the outdated protocols of waste and waste removal. In his efforts Marceleno spearheaded programs such as “Operation Responsible: Safe Refuse Collection” and “Sanitary Landfills: You’re the Operator” to combat injury and mortality rates.

In 1973, the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he served as senior industrial hygienist for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, while also doing MBA work in marketing and management at Xavier University. It was during this time that he also authored a visual book for the EPA titled “Jon Thomas: Cool Cat!” explaining the process of garbage collection regarding landfills and operation. The book won a first-place award with the Society for Technical Communications. However, it wouldn’t be long until he was called back to Texas for yet another commission, this time serving to identify issues relating to the coordination of the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Initiative, and later to oversee the Dallas-based Region 6 program for Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico regarding health concerns surrounding the AIDS epidemic.

In 1977 the Marceleno family finally settled down in Dallas, Texas. It was here that he planned and designed a home for his large family, now well into their teenage years. It was at this residence that Troy resided for the rest of his life, often spending his time meticulously caring for his roses, tending to his yard, and enjoying becoming a grandfather after his first grandson, Scott Evan Tucker Jr. was born in 1983, to his daughter, Michelle, and her husband, Scott Tucker Sr.

In 1985 Troy retired from the public sector after completing his last federal service commission in El Paso, Texas. He went on to work in the private sector for Ryder System/ Aviall, vastly improving safety regulations in aviation management before officially retiring from environmental work in 1994.

In both his free time and retirement, he enjoyed a robust social and civic life. As the recipient of the prestigious Silver Beaver Award from the Boy Scouts of America (Scouting America), Troy was a lifelong supporter of the scouts. He was also an avid golfer, often playing or marshalling the course at Steven’s Park, in Oak Cliff, and a member of the Los Amigos golf club. He also enjoyed being a distinguished member of the Duncanville Rotary Club and cheering on both the Dallas Cowboys and his beloved Texas A&M Aggies, often traveling to College Station with his family and friends to eventually watch his grandson, Jackson Stilwell march in the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band.

Marceleno was also an avid world traveler, as Australia, Latin America, Mexico City, Rome, Greece, Fiji, and Scotland (to play golf) are just some of the destinations he traveled to. He also supported his grandchildren in every way imaginable, attending everything from graduations to soccer games to obscure late-night art gallery openings, poetry readings, and concerts in Deep Ellum, all the way up until his last months of life. There would never a room he walked into that he didn’t feel comfortable in. His life has served as a major inspiration to both his family and all that met him along his unique and remarkable journey. He will be remembered for always seeing the best in people, never being shy about giving a compliment, and always showing up to lend a helping hand or give a crucial piece of advice when it was needed most. He was deeply proud of his family and never shy with his affections.

There is an old saying that half of life is simply showing up. Troy showed up every day of his life, full of positivity, energy, wisdom, and sincerity, cramming several lifetimes’ worth of experiences into his 88 years. He will always be remembered for his remarkable passion for living, as well as his bravery, generosity, and deep love of family.

Captain Troy Marceleno was preceded in death by his father, Marcelino Marceleno; mother, Sarah Marceleno; son, Stevie Marceleno; and son-in-law, Scott Tucker Sr.

He is survived by his wife, Melinda Marceleno; sons, David and Aurthur Marceleno; daughters, Michelle Tucker, Laura Foreman, and Kathy Stilwell; and grandchildren, Scott Tucker Jr., Melissa Tucker, Brooke Marceleno, Jackson Stillwell, Chase Stillwell, Matthew Marceleno, Travis Marceleno, Sophia Marceleno, and Olivia Marceleno.