×

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.