Melvin Noelck

Memorials are requested to the St. John Lutheran Church or to the Melcher-Dallas Rescue Unit. Melvin was born August 16 1920 near Arcadia, Iowa in Carroll County. He was baptized later that year and confirmed in 1935. He attended elementary school in Gray, Iowa and after school he worked on farms as a hired hand. He loved the farm and continued to farm for several years after marrying Alice Adams on Nov. 14, 1943. They were blessed with a son Duane. They moved to Pocahontas in 1958 where he started doing Dairy Herd Improvement work and moved to Ankeny in 1960 where he served on the Dairy Herd Improvement Association in Polk, Dallas, and Marion Counties until retiring in 1988 after 30 years of enjoyable work. Melvin and Alice moved to Melcher in 1973 and was active with Dairy projects in 4-H and worked at the State Fair in the Dairy Parlor for 12 years. Melvin was also active in his church, beginning with being a charter member of the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ankeny and continued to be active with St. John Lutheran Church in Melcher after moving to town. He enjoyed fishing, woodworking, and general repairing. He loved to invent and tinker in his basement spending many hours working on all kinds of different projects. His health started failing in 1995. He was on dialysis treatments for many months. In 2001 he fractured a hip and was forced to use a walker after that. In 2007 he went permanently to West Ridge Nursing Center in Knoxville and passed away there on July 18, 2008. Melvin was preceded in death by his parents; brothers: Elmer (Inez) Noelck, Bill (Florence) Noelck, and sister-in-law Inger Marie Noelck. Melvin is survived by his wife of 64 years Alice; his son Duane Noelck of Marshalltown; brothers: Emil Noelck of Hampton, Walter (Joan) Noelck of Audubon, and sister-in-law Ruth Noelck of Geneva; nieces, nephews, and friends.