Melvin
Edwardson, age 90, a retired railroad
telegrapher/operator from Shelby , passed Tuesday at a Great Falls Hospital from
natural causes. Visitation is
Friday from 1:00 until 8:00 pm at the Whitted Funeral Chapel. Funeral
services are
2:00 pm Saturday February 23, 2008 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church with
burial in the Mountain View Cemetery . A reception will follow at the
Marias Heritage Center .
Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Ethel of Shelby; a sister, Anna Mae Getz of Maryville , ND ; stepsons Butch (Terry) Oliver of Denver, CO and Doug Oliver of Kalispell; eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; nieces Sonja Snyder and Carmen Qualey; nephews Jerry Edwardson and Steven Getz.
He is preceded in death by his parents and a brother Edward.
Melvin was born January 5, 1918 in Finley , ND at the family home to Julius & Alida Edwardson. He attended grade school at Pickert , ND and later graduating from Finely High School, after which he worked on the family farm. Deciding he wanted to do something different, he joined the Civil Conservation Corp for 18 months and worked in California , Minnesota and Wyoming . He moved to Fargo , ND and worked at a variety of jobs. In 1949 he went to telegraph school in Minneapolis , MN . After which he went to work for the Great Northern Railroad at Kevin for three weeks. For the next couple of years he traveled with the railroad and worked at 35 different stations. In 1953 he moved to Saco with the railroad and worked there for 12 years, where he met the love of his life and married Ethel Oliver April 23, 1959 at Glasgow . They returned to Kevin in1965 where he lived in the depot and worked as the telegrapher there. In 1966 they moved to Shelby . In 1979 he retired from the Burlington Northern as an operator.
Melvin was a member of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Brotherhood.
He enjoyed reading, doing crossword puzzles and watching Atlanta Braves Baseball.
His family will miss his smile, sense of humor and his wisdom, but we know he is in a better place.
The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff of the Marias Heritage Center who cared for Melvin for the past year. We also want to thank Bill Linn and his late wife Donna and their family for their friendship and kindness.
Memorials may be sent in Melvin’s name to the organization of donor’s choice.