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Herbert L. Meschke

March 18, 1928- May 19, 2017

Herbert L. Meschke, 89,

passed away on Friday,

May 19, 2017 at his home

near Minot, ND.

Herbert was born March

18, 1928, in the Badlands

north of Medora, ND to

cattleman and cowboy

poet Gus Meschke and his

wife Dorothy McLeod. He

was raised on the ranch,

went to a one-room coun-

try school, and attended

high school in Belfield,

ND. Herbert would go on

to attend Jamestown State

College, where he met and

married, Shirley Ruth

McNeil of Hettinger, ND.

Herbert attended law

school at the University of

Michigan in Ann Arbor,

and returned to ND. Fol-

lowing a year of clerking

for Federal District Judge

Charles Vogel in Fargo, he

joined the law firm of

Ilvedson, Pringle, and

Herigstad in Minot. Her-

bert was a member of the

Ward County, State, and

American Bar Assns, and

admitted to practice be-

fore the 8th Circuit Court

of Appeals. Additionally,

Herbert was admitted and

qualified as attorney and

counselor of the Supreme

Court of the United

States, April 19, 1962.

Herb and Shirley had

four children who they

raised in Minot. The

Meschke family were

members of Vincent Un-

ited Methodist Church,

where he served for

several committees and

the foundation Board.

Herb served in the 1965

legislative session in the

ND house, and in 67-68 as

state senator and senate

minority leader for the

Democratic-NPL. In a leg-

islative capacity, he

helped in the congression-al push to support and

open the lignite coal

mines and move the

State-Fair permanently to

the Northwestern ND fair-

grounds in Minot. He was

a principal organizer and

board member of the

Minot Vocational Work-

shop, and board-chairman

of the Minot Symphony

Endowment. In 1985, Her-

bert accepted an appoint-

ment to the ND Supreme

Court until his retirement

in 1999. He continued

working as special coun-

sel and did historical writ-

ing for the ND Supreme

Court, family homestead

pioneers and cowboys.

Surviving family in-

cludes: Loving wife of 66

years, Shirley Ruth; and

children, Marie, Jean,

Michael, and Jill; Grand-

children Aurora, Mason,

Finan, Taylor, Justine,

and Conan; and sister

Helen Kary.

Herbert was preceded

in death by his parents

Gus and Dorothy, and his

brothers, Don and Ralph.

Celebration of Life ser-

vice: Wednesday, May 24,

2017 at 1:30 p.m. in Vin-

cent United Methodist

Church, Minot.

Visitation: At the re-

quest of family, there will

not be a reviewal, howev-

er friends may sign a

memorial register book on

Tuesday, May 23rd from

3:00-6:00 p.m. in Thomas

family Funeral Home,

Minot.

Memorials are pre-

ferred to the Minot Sym-

phony Association or the

State Historical Society of

ND Foundation.

Those wanting to sign

the online memorial regis-

ter or share memories and

condolences are invited to

use the expressions of

sympathy section at

(www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com)