Melvin Knutson
July 23, 1940-August 25, 2017
Melvin Knutson, 77, of
Post Falls passed away
suddenly Friday, August
25, 2017 at Kootenai Med-
ical Center. Mel was born
July 23, 1940 to John and
Edna Knutson in Sher-
wood, North Dakota.
Mel spent his early
years on his family’s farm
where he developed a true
passion for agriculture
and machinery. He gra-
duated from North Dakota
State University in 1965
with a bachelor’s degree
in civil and agricultural
engineering. On August
18, 1962 he married his
high school sweetheart
Beverly Thompson, also
of Sherwood. Upon gra-
duation, they moved to
the Pacific Northwest
where he worked for the
US Forest Service in Mon-
tana, Washington, Ore-
gon, and Idaho until his
retirement in 1995.
Mel was a man of
abounding talent. He was
passionate about restoring
old cars, (especially his
1955 T-Bird). He was a
master at wood carving
and created everything
from ducks, birds, cars,
boats, and airplanes, to
historically correct Viking
ships, all to scale. He
loved fishing, eagles, and
all things NASA and
space. Mel genuinely
loved talking to people
about any subject and was
always more than willing
to tell others what they
could do, how they could
do it and why they should
do it. He was very in-
volved at Trinity Lutheran
Church as a greeter, usher
and lefsa maker. He was a
member of the Sons of
Norway and a past
member of North Idaho
Car Classics. Mel loved
the Seattle Seahawks,
Gonzaga Bulldog basket-
ball, and NDSU Bison
football.
Mel is survived by his
wife of 55 years, Beverly;
daughter, Lori Edwards of
McGregor, Texas; son,
Eric Knutson and Ronda
(Davis) of Oregon City,
Oregon; grandchildren,
Blaine Bickley (Becca)
and Kaycee Edwards of
Texas, Hannah Knutson
of Oregon; great
grandchildren, Bria & Bel-
la Bickley of Texas; broth-
ers, Mervin (Agnes) Knut-
son of Tolley, North Dako-
ta and Jerome Knutson of
Temple, Texas; several
nieces and nephews; and
the newest member of his
family, Karlee the dog.
He was preceded in
death by his parents, John
& Edna; son-in-law, James
Edwards; and Foxxi the
dog.
A memorial service will
be held on Thursday, Au-
gust 31 at 1:00pm at Trini-
ty Lutheran Church in
Coeur d’ Alene, ID.
Memorials may be made
to Trinity Lutheran
Church. Yates Funeral
Home is entrusted with fi-
nal arrangements. Please
visit Mel’s online memori-al and sign his guestbook
at www.yates
funeralhomes.com.