- Melvin Hammer
Funeral services for Melvin Hammer were held at 2:30 PM Tuesday, April 7, 2009. Pastor
Barbara Westhoff officiated at the service at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Westby;
interment, with military honors by the Westby, Grenora, and Plentywood American Legion
Posts, was in Scandia Cemetery, southwest of Westby. Casketbearers were Allen Ekness,
Dennis Kittelson, and Jody, Lynden, Rick, and Robert Lagerquist; Ken Keldsen was usher.
Melvin died early Thursday morning, April 2, at Sheridan Memorial Hospital in Plentywood;
he was 91.
The third of 6 children of Carl and Marie (Fulsaas) Hammer, Melvin was born September 20,
1917 on the family farm south of Westby. He grew up there, attended rural schools, and
graduated from Westby High School in 1936. He worked at the Lagerquist coal mine, served
in the Civilian Conservation Corps at Missoula, and on a sheep ranch near Hinsdale as well
as for farmers in the Westby area.
- On October 30, 1943 he entered the U.S. Army for service in World War II. He served in
Europe, and was on his way to the pacific when the Japanese surrendered.
occupation of Japan until he was discharged March 15, 1946, then returned to Westby and took over the family farm.
He raised grain and cattle until retirement, then moved into Westby, where he lived until declining health forced him to LaCasa Personal
Care in Plentywood. An avid reader, he was well-informed, familiar with history, and knowledgeable about a wide range of things.
Melvin was kinda set in his ways – for example, Louis L’Amour was his favorite author; but after his death, the novels by his successors
just weren’t the same! He maintained his dry sense of humor until his death; and loved to work crossword puzzles – with a ballpoint pen!
– and enjoyed teaching other residents of LaCasa to do crosswords.
Never married, Melvin is survived by a brother, Olaf Hammer, of Tacoma, Washington; and a sister, Ethel Harshbarger, of Westby, and by
nephews and nieces. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by three brothers, Clarence, Selmer, and Clifford.
Fulkerson Funeral Home of Plentywood had charge of arrangements.
| 1917 - 2009 |
| . . . . in Memory of . . . . |
Remembering Melvin
Our prayers go out to all the family and especially to Ethel in Westby, Pam and Jackie in Williston.
Kitty Hammer
\Spanaway, WA
\k.hammer@lemayinc.com
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Uncle Melvin will be missed. Sure glade Kitty and I had a chance to see him last summer.
Steve Hammer
Spanaway, WA
skham@juno.com
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Kitty Hammer
\Spanaway, WA
\k.hammer@lemayinc.com
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Uncle Melvin will be missed. Sure glade Kitty and I had a chance to see him last summer.
Steve Hammer
Spanaway, WA
skham@juno.com
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