Melvin Lee

Melvin E. Lee, age 97, of Litchfield, died on January 6, 2009 at Emmanuel Nursing Home in Litchfield. Memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 10, 2009 at Augustana Memorial Chapel, Litchfield at 2:00 PM with Pastor John Peterson officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Private family inurnment will be held at a later time. Melvin Edward Lee was born January 25th, 1911, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was the first child of John M. Lee and Anna Marie Halaas. In 1916 Melvin went to kindergarten in St. Paul. He only spoke Norwegian and school was taught in English. He talked about the metal wheeled trucks and the horse drawn water wagons that sprayed water on the streets to keep the dust down. In the spring of 1918 his family moved to a farm near Buffalo Lake in Chippewa county. The lake was named for the many buffalo bones found nearby. In 1918 Melvin began attending school at District 10. They walked about 2 miles to school. On Sundays they attended Buffalo Lake Lutheran Church which was only a few miles from their home. Melvin was confirmed there in 1928. He was in the first confirmation class that "read for the minister" in English rather than Norwegian.Melvin graduated from the eighth grade in 1926. He continued to work at home on the farm for a while. His first car was a 1929 "Model A" purchased from an elderly neighbor for $29. He then worked in Iowa picking corn. He went there with other young men from neighboring farms. After that he helped build grain elevators in Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Iowa. In the fall of 1936 Melvin came to the city and asked the Eriksen boys where he should look for work. They recommended the Ford Plant. He continued working at the Ford Plant during World War II. He helped make tanks and parts for bombers.On St. Patrick's Day, 1939, he met Edith, a telegraph operator, at a dance. They were married in Northwood, Iowa on September 16th, 1939. Melvin's work schedule was unpredictable, so they went to Iowa to get married on a weekend when he was able to get time off work.They bought a house in south Minneapolis, and lived there until 1946 when they moved to rural Chippewa county. There he worked as a mechanic, working on cars and farm vehicles. After that he began doing carpentry work in Minneapolis, and was a member of Carpenter's Local 1644. They lived in Minneapolis 11 years, then in 1972 they moved to Litchfield at the time of retirement. For many years Melvin and Edith enjoyed taking trips by car. In the spring they would usually drive to the west coast. A few times they traveled to the east coast to visit Doris and Nancy, but they didn't like all the traffic out east. He lived during the "golden age of the automobile" and enjoyed working on his cars. His favorite sport was wrestling and favorite sportsman was Vern Gagne. Melvin passed away on January 6th, 2009. Melvin lived a long and interesting life, and he will be greatly missed. Melvin is survived by his wife Edith, 3 daughters, Carol (Dean) McWilliams of MPLS, Doris (Gerald) Snyder of Frederiksberg, Virginia and Elaine (Paul) Julin of Brooklyn Park, 1 son, James (Mary) Lee of Lakeville. He is also survived by his 12 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, sisters, Bertha Tjosaas of Benson, Ellen Bosch of Montivideo, Jennie Claussen of Benson, Brother, Albert (Darlene) Lee of Coos Bay, Oregon and sisters-in-law, Angeline Lee of Benson. Melvin was preceded in death by his parents, daughter Nancy Lee, brothers Joel James Lee, Joseph Lee, sister in law, Marion Lee, sister Agnes Barret, brothers in law Alf Tjosaas and Bernard Bosch . BLESSED BE HIS MEMORY