Suhr, Melvin Carl (1928-2018)
SUHR, ECK, QUITNO, MILLER, WEECH, STIERLI, HOLST
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 5/18/2021 at 17:36:22
Melvin Suhr
December 24, 1928 - October 22, 2018Melvin Carl Suhr, age 89, of Storm Lake, Iowa, died on October 22, 2018, in Sioux City, Iowa.
A son of Carl and Lillie (Eck) Suhr, Melvin was born on December 24, 1928, in Wausa, Nebraska. Baptized, confirmed, and raised in the Lutheran faith, he attended grade school in Wausa and graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1946 in Bloomfield, Nebraska. Then, he furthered his education at Luther College and Dana College, both in Nebraska. In 1958, he graduated with a degree in Theology from Augustana Seminary in Rock Island, Illinois. On June 22, 1963, he married Carole Quitno in Rockford, Illinois. They were blessed with two children, Phillip and Martha.
For fourteen years, Mel served as pastor of the First Lutheran Church in Centerville, Iowa, and then for twenty-eight years at Fremont Lutheran in Red Oak, Iowa. Moreover, during that time, he served Tabor Lutheran in Stanton, Iowa, for sixteen years. A member of a Synod board, President of the Lutheran Lakeside Bible Camp Board, and President of the Iowa Luther League, he, also, volunteered with the 4-H, the Boy Scouts, and the Girl Scouts. In addition, he had a special love for St. Mark’s Companion Congregation, Lupembe Lutheran Parish, in Tanzania.
In his free time, Mel loved travelling, camping, hiking, and photographing nature, for which he developed a strong love. Some of his photos even won awards, and he would show them at nursing homes. In pursuit of beautiful scenery, he travelled to all fifty states, Tanzania, and Switzerland.
Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of fifty-five years, Carole, of Storm Lake, Iowa; his children, Phillip Suhr, and Martha (Robert) Miller, both of Naples, Florida; his brothers: Ken (Dee) Suhr, of Cottonwood, Arizona, Vernon (Mardell) Suhr, of Miltona, Minnesota, and Robert (Sue) Suhr, of Lockhaven, Pennsylvania; his grandchild, Chelsey (Chris) Weech, of Chicago, Illinois; and an AFS son, Martino (Ilir) Stierli, of New York, New York; as well as his nieces and nephews who held a special place in his heart.
Mel was preceded in death by his parents and his step-mother, Isa Holst Suhr.
Memorial services will be held Friday, October 26, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Storm Lake. A burial service will follow that same day at Fremont Lutheran Church, rural Essex, Iowa, at 4:00 p.m. with inurnment in Mount Hope Cemetery, rural Essex, Iowa. Visitation will take place Thursday, October 25, 2018, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in STORM LAKE. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be given to Lutheran Lakeside Camp, 2491 170th St. Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360, or to Companion Synod, c/o Western Iowa Synod, 318 E 5th Street, Storm Lake, Iowa 50588. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.
Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes, Storm Lake, Iowa, 2018.
Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by LaVern Velau.
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