Melvin E. Grim

          Melvin E. Grim, 81, of Dannebrog died Saturday, July 22, 2017 at CHI Health-St. Francis in Grand Island.

          Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Dannebrog.  Reverend Sheri Lodel will officiate.  Interment will be in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Dannebrog.

          Visitation will be on Wednesday, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the church.

          Memorials are suggested to Gillian Barre’ Syndrome Foundation.

          Jacobsen-Greenway Funeral Home in St. Paul is in charge of arrangements.

          Mel was born April 14, 1936 in Dannebrog to Lemuel F. and Elta V. (Lingford) Grim.  He attended school in Dannebrog.

          Mel was united in marriage to Alice N. DeMary on February 23, 1958 in at the First Baptist Church in Dannebrog.

          The couple lived all their married life in Dannebrog.  Mel was in the trucking business with his dad and brothers.  In 1955, he began his own gravel trucking business.  In 1959, he opened his service station and tank truck business, which he operated until his retirement in 1994.

          His wife Alice died on January 26, 1985.

          Mel married Joyce (Huebner) Johnson on October 11, 1987 at Calvary Lutheran Church in Grand Island.  They lived in Dannebrog.

          For 21 years Mel and Joyce owned and operated Mom and ‘Pops’ Kettle Korn.  They made many friends along their route.  No one was ever a stranger to Mel.

          He was a member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Dannebrog where he served on the church council.

          He was a charter member of the Dannebrog Lion’s Club and Dannebrog EMT’s.  Mel was a longtime member of the Dannebrog Fire Department where he served as fire chief and the Hastings EAA #544.  Mel’s “fun” hobby was owning and flying his Cessna 150.  He always planned to build his own experimental airplane, but life wasn’t long enough to do all that he wanted to do.

          Survivors include his wife, Joyce of Dannebrog; two sons, Leo Grim of Cairo and Scott Grim and his wife, Kimberly of Dannebrog; five step children, Wayne and Mary Johnson of Ankeny, IA, Daryl Johnson and Diann and Jeff Haden of Grand Island, Wanda and Tony Williams of Savannah, MO and Coryn and Jim Nielsen of Dannebrog; 12 grandchildren and spouses, Kasey Grim, Jake and Jordan Grim, John Grim, Grant and Stacey Johnson, Paige & Kalvin Grabau-Keele, Reed Johnson, Manon and Matt Strayer, Doran Hadan and Travis Owens, Cale Hadan and Katie Lawlor, Jaden Lantz, and Chase and Shane Nielsen; 7 great-grandchildren, Willow and Knox Grabau-Keele, Gavin, Nora and Ella Johnson, Ivan Hadan-Owens and Haden Johnson.  He is also survived by two brothers and a sister-in-law, Dale and Nellie Grim of Grand Island and George Grim of Watauga, TX; and a brother-in-law, Doyle Wohlers of Lebanon, OR and other family and friends.

          He is preceded in death by his parents; first wife, Alice; four sisters and 2 brothers-in-law, Lucile and Charlie Fox, Ruth and Bob Rinehart, Verna Wohlers, and Audrey Grim; six brothers and three sisters-in-law, Clyde, Verne, Dean, Ray and Allena, Arnold and Elaine, Leonard and Betty Grim and a sister-in-law, Betty Grim.

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