Florence Melby, 97, Harvey, ND went into the arms of Jesus on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at the St. Aloisius Nursing Home, Harvey, ND.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 17 at First Lutheran Church, Harvey, ND.

Burial will be in the spring at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Drake, ND.

Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday Feb. 16 at Hertz Funeral Home, Harvey, ND.

Florence was born on December 11, 1920 on the family farm west of Harvey, ND. She was the daughter of Gust and Clara (Wangen) Christensen. She grew up on the family farm and attended a one-room school in Hillsdale Township west of Harvey with about 30 other children. Everyone, including Florence, spoke Norwegian which made it difficult for the teacher who only spoke English. An interpreter was needed but they all learned to read and write in English.
Florence married Edwin Meckle of Denhoff, ND on November 9, 1942 while he was in the service. In October, 1945 they moved to Denhoff and Florence worked with her husband, Ed, for 23 years buying and selling cream. They moved to Drake, ND in 1960. She also worked in the office at the Drake Coop Creamery for a while. Ed Meckle passed away on September 5, 1991. Florence moved to Harvey in September 1993. She married Arthur Melby from Harvey on October 10, 1994. Arthur passed away on December 3, 2010. Florence moved into the St Aloisius Nursing home in September of 2011.
When Florence was young she loved to play guitar and sing with her sister, Ovine. She enjoyed reading and visiting with family and friends while in the nursing home. Bingo was also a favorite pastime and she enjoyed collecting as many nickels as possible!
She was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church at Drake and currently was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Harvey. Her Lord, faith, church family and friends were always very important to her. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary at Drake and a member of the VFW Auxiliary in Harvey.

She is survived by her sisters, Rose Frey of Harvey, Donna Schimke of Bemidji, MN; brothers, Gordon Christenson of Harvey, and Elwood Christenson of Riverside, California; numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husbands, parents and her sister, Ovine Marzolf.