Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 270931
Title: Melvin "Mel" J. Schauer
Date: 7/24/1927-10/14/2022
Inscription/Marks: 7/27/1927
Summary: Melvin J. Schauer, 95, Wishek, ND, passed away October 14, 2022, at the Wishek Living Center. Funeral services were held October 24, 2022, at the Dawson City Hall, 215 Hwy 3. Burial was at the Dawson Cemetery. Melvin Jacob Schauer was born July 24, 1927, one of 12 children to Emanuel and Caroline (Ketterling) Schauer in Bunker Township, 15 miles south of Dawson in Kidder County. He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith at Glukestal Church. He attended county schools in Belden 1 and 3. He began employment with Dawson Railroad Coal Dock in 1946. In 1949 he was employed by Zontelli Construction as a lineman building REA lines. Melvin was inducted in the US Marine Corps in November 1951 and was honorably discharged in November 1953. In 1955 he was again employed by Zontelli Construction as a line foreman installing RTA telephone lines. In 1956 he began a 30-year career with MDU as a serviceman in the Steele and Elgin districts. In 1972 he was transferred to Ipswich, SD, as a district representative. While employed by MDU he was active in the communities by serving on the Lutheran Church Council, church choir, American Legion, and fire departments. He retired from MDU in 1987 with over 30 years of service. Melvin and Elma Ketterling (Scheuneman) were united in marriage at the Dawson Lutheran Church on November 16, 1969. Elma passed away in 1991. Mel and Joyce (Jarske) Reiland were married July 1, 1995, at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Logan County. Following their marriage he was blessed with step-children, step-grandchildren, and step-great-grandchildren, a role he lovingly fulfilled. They made their home in Bismarck and enjoyed cabin life at Lake Isabel and Green Lake. In 2011 they moved to the assisted living apartments in Wishek. He entered the Wishek Living Center in August 2022. Proud to serve his country in the US Marines, he continued his dedication through lifelong membership in the American Legion and Honor Guard. Patient and non-judgmental, Mel drew people in with his quiet demeaner and concern for them. Slow to anger and rich in kindness, he was never without a tape measure and the small pocket knife he received from his godparents on his sixth birthday. He is survived by his brother, Gilbert (Audrey) Schauer, Longview, WA; stepdaughters, Beth (Curt) Rudolf and Nancy (Tom) Sperling; stepson, Paul (Tamie) Reiland; several step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews who were very special to him. Mel was preceded in death by his wife, Elma, in 1991; wife, Joyce, in 2022; parents, Emanuel and Caroline Schauer; seven sisters, Emilia, Magdelina, Anne Marie, Pauline, Lydia, Bertha, and Ruth; three brothers, Richard, Theodore, and Vernon; stepson, John Reiland; stepson-in-law, Leo Krein; and step-grandson, Bill Reed.
Red ID: FND_I_78426 Image ID: 599615 Image Notes: FND001 270931

Collection: FND001 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Date: -

Summary: The North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program is sponsored by the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. The life stories of deceased North Dakotans are featured in an archvied collection. Current partners in the project are Eastgate Funeral & Cremation Services, Bismarck Evans Funeral Homes, Carrington and New Rockford Everson-Coughlin Funeral Home, Williston Fulkerson Funeral Home, Tioga Fulkerson Funeral Home, Watford City Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home, Williston Nero Funeral Home, Bottineau Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck Springan Stevenson Funeral Home, Stanley Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson These funeral homes provide recent obituaries to the Foundation, where staff and volunteers format, edit and archive each memorial. The memorials are posted, and copies are sent to the family for their input and approval. The listing currently features more than 13,000 memorials, and is constantly updated as new memorials and histories are received.

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