Marlene Molzahn

Marlene Molzahn of Minot will celebrate 90 years of a remarkable life on Wednesday, March 4.

Born on March 4, 1936, in rural North Dakota during the Great Depression, Molzahn has lived a life of challenges, strength and hard work but also one of love of family and music.

Molzahn’s story began with her birth at Underwood to Harry and Esther (Kalk) Pochant and early years growing up with five brothers and a sister. She experienced the loss of her biological mother at a very young age and was lovingly raised by her uncle and aunt, Gust and Ella Kalk, in Minot, the city that would become her lifelong home. Those early years shaped the resilience, steadiness and strength that have defined her.

Molzahn attended Minot High School as Marlene Kalk, graduating in the Class of 1954. She graduated from Minot State Teachers College (now Minot State University) with a business degree. There, she met Virgil Breding, and the two were married on Aug. 26, 1955. During their marriage, they lived in various North Dakota small towns, where Breding taught and coached. They had five children before divorcing in the late 1970s.

For many years, Molzahn taught piano lessons, investing patiently in generations of students while raising five busy children of her own. Music is one of Molzahn’s gifts. She has a beautiful singing voice, and her home was filled with music, discipline and more than a little noise, according to her family. Through it all, she was steady — the kind of mother who showed up every day and did the work of loving her family well.

As life moved forward, Molzahn encountered many more challenges and always rose to the occasion. After becoming a single mother, she worked to build a career at North Central Human Service Center in Minot in its medical records department, demonstrating to her family that strength and independence can grow in new seasons.

She also found a second chapter of companionship and love in her marriage to Ron Molzahn on July 31, 1987. Together, they built a life rooted in faith, family and the Minot community. Ron Molzahn died on July 29, 2021.

Faith has always been at the center of Molzahn’s life. From her early years at First Baptist Church in Minot to her long membership at Immanuel Baptist Church, her trust in God has been constant, creating a legacy that runs deep in her family. During her marriage to Ron Molzahn, she also attended Trinity Church.

Today, Molzahn’s greatest joy is her family, which includes five children – Don, Kandis, Kim, Robb and Jason – along with 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Her family says they each carry something of their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, whether it is her perseverance, loyalty, love of music or belief that showing up and working hard matter.

Ninety years is a long time to love and to serve. Molzahn has done both with grace.

Her family plans an open house to honor her on Sunday, June 14, from 2-4 p.m. at Immanuel Baptist Church in Minot.