Melvin Kjerstad was born March 28, 1909, on his parents' homestead northeast of Quinn, South Dakota, to Emil Sr. and Gurine (Ellingsen) Kjerstad.

He grew up in the Quinn area and received his education in the Kruse Country School near his home, prior to attending Quinn High School.

He was baptized in the Norwegian Lutheran Church.

As a young man he worked as a hired hand for several neighbors, including Lon Hildebrandt and Martin Ellingsen.  In 1929 he purchased his first tractor and started farming for himself.

Melvin was united in marriage to Clarice Ike at Hot Springs on November 10, 1931.

Their first home was on a small place south of his parents'.  After a few years he sold his place to his parents and moved his family to a ranch at Minnekahta, South Dakota, west of Hot Springs, where he farmed and raised cattle.

After living at Minnekahta a few years, he bought the Charles Hastings place north of Quinn and moved back to the Quinn area.

Melvin was always a soil conservationist, building a large dam before the conservation program started.  He was one of the state conservationists honored at the State Fair in 1985.

In 1940 he and his family went to Tacoma, Washington, where he worked as a carpenter in defense work.  On December 7, 1941, when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, he was a carpenter in the St. John's Shipyard at Portland, Oregon.

In the spring of 1942 he and his family returned to his farm north of Quinn which they operated until 1962 when they moved into Wall.  He continued to retain his interest in the farm by farming in partnership with his son, Jim, until 1970 when he sold the farm to Jim and Mary.

While in Wall, they operated an antique shop until retiring in 1970, after which time he and his wife, spent several winters touring the southern states in their R.V.

Melvin was a member of the Wall Methodist Church.  He was a member of the original board that met in 1950 to organize the Golden West Telephone Co-op.  He was a 25 year member of the Crescent Masonic Lodge #210 A.F. & A.M., and was Past Patron of Wonderland Chapter of the Eastern Star.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Clarice, of Wall; one son, James Kjerstad and his wife, Mary, of Wall; one daughter, Dorothy Denke and her husband, LeRoy, of Hill City; 7 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; 5 step-great-grandchildren; 1 step-great-great-grandson; five brothers, George Washington Kjerstad of Wall, Lawrence Kjerstad of Rapid City, Elnoris Kjerstad, Konrad Kjerstad and John Kjerstad, all of Quinn; two sisters, Anna (Mrs. Edgar) Schreiber of Quinn and Marie (Mrs. Albert) Reiner of Kansas City, Kansas; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Melvin was preceded in death by one great-granddaguther, Kelsey C. Getting; and one step-great-granddaughter, Tanya Denke; his parents; and two brothers, Emil Kjerstad Jr. and Pedar Kjerstad.

Services
Tuesday, February 2, 1993
2:00 p.m.
United Methodist Church
Wall, South Dakota

Officiating
Reverend Keith Lampert

Music
Dorothy Shearer - Organist
Anita Kjerstad & Lisa Kjerstad
"In The Garden"
Lucille Holsether
"How Great Thou Art"

Ushers
Bud Paulsen - John Paulsen
Jerry Johannesen - Bill Leonard

Active Pallbearers
Leonard Kjerstad - Jerald Kjerstad
Donald Kjerstad - Floyd Kjerstad
Clayton Kjerstad - Darrel Kjerstad
Lawrence Schreiber

Honorary Pallbearers
All relatives and friends in attendance

Interment
Wall Cemetery
Wall, South Dakota