Melvin F. Sanders

A celebration of life services for Melvin F. "Mel" Sanders, age 81, of Norfolk, will be held Thursday, November 20, at 11:00 a.m. at Christ Lutheran Church in Norfolk with the Rev. Mike Moreno officiating. Visitation will be Thursday, November 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the church. Interment with military honors will be at the Beemer Cemetery in Beemer, NE. Minnick Funeral Home in Wisner, NE is in charge of the arrangements. Memorials are suggested to the Orphan Grain Train.

Mel died on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at Faith Regional Hospital in Norfolk, NE following his courageous seven-year battle against cancer.

Honorary pall bearers are Mel's grandchildren: Sara Harbottle, Mary Coles, Zakeri Wallick, Julie Parker, Logan Wallick, Laura Haase, Molly Schultz, Kate Schultz, and Madison Schultz.

Mel was born on November 15, 1943 in O'Neill, NE to Floyd and Agnes (Martinson) Sanders. His parents farmed north of O'Neill. He attended country school at District #15. In 1957 after their crops were wiped out by hail, his parents decided to quit farming. They moved to Fairfax, SD where his dad worked for his brother-in-law, Gene Martinson. After a few months in South Dakota, his parents decided to move back to O'Neill where his dad was employed in the street maintenance department by the City of O'Neill. Mel entered the 8th grade at O'Neill Public Schools. He was a member of the National Honor Society and salutatorian of his class. He graduated in May of 1962 with honors.

Mel attended the University of Nebraska in the fall of 1962, and then in December of 1963 he decided to join the Air Force. He took his six weeks of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, TX. After basic training he went to Lowry Air Force Base in Aurora, CO where he trained for the weapons control system of the F106 airplane, which consisted of radar, communications, and electronics training. After six months, he was transferred to George Air Force Base in Victorville, CA where he was assigned to work on the electronics for the Weapon Control System on the F106 Delta Dart airplane. Squadron 329 of George Air Force Base, of which Mel was a member, was disbanded in the summer of 1967 and he was transferred to Paine Field Air Base in Everett, WA. He remained there until his honorable discharge in December of 1967.

He returned to Nebraska and worked in line maintenance at Dale Electronics in Norfolk. While at Dale's he took the postal exam. In February of 1969, he was hired by the Grand Island Post Office. In May of 1969 he moved back to Norfolk and took a position at the Norfolk Post Office. He met Colleen (Livingston) Berge and her daughter, Shelly, while working at Dale's. They were married in August of 1969 and had another daughter, Amy.

Mel was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Norfolk. He met Lucy (Schneider) Schultz at the support group for the Divorced, Widowed and Separated and on December 28, 1991 they were married at Christ Lutheran Church. After 34 years with the post office, Mel retired in March of 2003. He worked at Health Works for a few years and finally retired.

Music was the voice of Mel's soul. As a music fan, he had a sizeable collection of several genres of music. He loved to compile songs on a CD to give as gifts to his family and friends. He was on the Board of Directors for the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame and helped Jim Casey when Jim was organizing the group. In 1995 he was the first inductee to the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame as a fan. He was a member of the Divorced, Widowed and Separated support group where he enjoyed dancing and socializing with friends. He loved to go antiquing and had a large collection of diecast cars. He was an avid fan of the Nebraska Cornhusker football team and NASCAR. He had a fondness for ice cream.

Mel was a man of quiet strength and his family meant the world to him.

Survivors include his wife, Lucy -

Daughter - Shelly and Alan Thomas of Norfolk, Nebraska and granddaughters -

Sara and Brian Harbottle and daughters, Hunter and Harper of Norfolk, Nebraska,

Mary and Jake Coles and sons, Buck and Knox of Norfolk, Nebraska,

Julie and Derek Parker and sons, Damian, Maverick, and Memphis of Norfolk, Nebraska, and Laura and Matt Haase and daughters, Kendall and Sadie Jo of Winside, Nebraska;

Daughter - Amy and Martin Ramirez of Henderson, Nevada and grandsons –

Zakeri Wallick of Henderson, Nevada, and

Logan and April Wallick of San Bernardino, California;

Step Daughter - Kim Schultz of Wayne, Nebraska and daughter –

Kate Schultz of Columbus, Nebraska;

Step Son - Randy and Cindy Schultz of Lincoln, Nebraska and daughter –

Madison Schultz of Lincoln, Nebraska;

Mel was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Agnes (Martinson) Sanders; brother, Duane Sanders and sister-in-law, Charlotte Sanders; and great granddaughter, Olivia Grace Parker.