KS_Newton -- Melvin A. Dirksen, 81, of
Denver, Colo., passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his
loving family on Nov. 2, 2012. He was born on April 7, 1931, to Adolf
and Martha Schmidt Dirksen in Goessel, the third of five children. He
received his early education at Emma Valley Grade School in McPherson
County, and in 1949, he graduated from Goessel High School. He
attended Bethel College, North Newton. He married Arzella Nikkel on
Oct. 18, 1953, in Goessel. She survives at their home in Denver. In
1952, he was drafted for the Korean War and served in the government
alternative 1-W program, working as an orderly in the Denver General
Hospital. After completing his service, he was a driver for Stearns
Dairy and a milk route salesman for several years. He held other
sales positions in various industries, ranging from specialized
cranes to school buses throughout his career. He was 52 when he
became an entrepreneur and opened Pioneer Sales and Service, selling
Swedish-made Pionjar gas-powered jackhammers. It was a perfect fit
for a man who enjoyed developing friendships as much as using his
mechanical skills tinkering and fixing things. He continued to run
his business up through the last weeks of his life, and did not let
the nearly three-year struggle with Multiple Myeloma cancer force
retirement. Having grown up on the family farm in Kansas, he never
lost his farming roots and was passionate about restoring and fixing
old tractors, particularly the one he had spent numerous hours
working the fields with as a boy. He always looked back fondly and
ended up collecting many tractors and full-size implements. It was a
great thrill sharing these large machines with young and old admirers
alike at summertime parades. The most gratifying component of his
life was his family, immediate and extended, near and far. His
positive outlook was most recently tested with the tragic and
untimely loss of his 19-year-old grandson Evan on Sept. 9, 2012.
Melvin was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Dennis A.
Dirksen; and grandson, Evan James Dirksen. In addition to his wife,
Arzella, he is survived by his son, Jim of Gunnison, Colo.;
daughters, Jan and Kirk Williams of Castle Rock, Colo., and Suzanne
and Jeff Opp of Denver; and six grandchildren, Jordan Williams of
Aspen, Colo., Kristen Dirksen of Gunnison, Colo., and Alexander,
Eric, Ted and Griffin Opp of Denver. He also is survived by a
brother, Evan A. Dirksen of Goessel, and two sisters, Erma Gallaway
of Rose Hill and Velma and Vernon Frey of Newton. A celebration of
his life will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 10 at First Mennonite Church in
Denver. Memorials are suggested in memory of Mel Dirksen to the Evan
Dirksen Scholarship Find in care of account #6250782635, Wells Fargo
Bank-Arapahoe Branch, 9350 East Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village, CO
80112.
