A good man, Merlin E. Nelson, age 97, of Bismarck, ND, passed away peacefully in his sleep during the early morning hours of Sunday, December 18, 2016 at his residence.

A funeral service will be held 10:30 AM Friday, December 23, 2016 at St. Olaf Lutheran Church of rural Turtle Lake, ND with Pastor Randy Emgarten officiating.

Interment will take place at 2:00 PM Friday at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Thursday at Buehler-Larson Funeral Home, 1701 Sunset Drive, in Mandan. Visitation will continue Friday, one hour prior to time of service at the church.

Merlin E. Nelson entered the world on March 9, 1919 in a farmhouse 7 miles north of Turtle Lake, ND. He was the first born child to Marcus & Edith (Peterson) Nelson. He was educated for seven years (skipping a grade) in a one-room schoolhouse one mile from his family's homestead. Merlin graduated from Turtle Lake High School in 1936.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in early 1942, following the "Day of Infamy" on Dec. 7th. He received an honorable medical discharge in 1944 due to recurring bouts of rheumatic fever. He was discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant. He then married his high school sweetheart, Violet Sackman, in 1944 at St. Olaf Lutheran Church near Turtle Lake, ND. Merlin attended and graduated from business college in Fargo.

Following some brief employments, Merlin worked as an accountant for the Veterans Hospital in Minot and then worked three decades for the Internal Revenue Service in Bismarck as an Auditing Agent. He felt that Minot and Bismarck were a reasonable driving distance from the farm near Turtle Lake.

In his heart, Merlin was a farmer. He helped his father Marcus, his brother Orval, and his brothers-in-law, Clarence & Bert with farming operations. If a neighbor had health problems, Merlin was there to assist them as well. If there was work to be done, he was there to help do it.

After Merlin purchased the land from his father Marcus, he raised small grains for a while, and later seeded it to alfalfa. He planted 10,000 trees and hoed every one of those buggers for 4 years to give them a good start. Nearly all weekends and vacations free from "numbers crunching" were at his farm.

Merlin was fond of all wildlife, with the exception of mice and pocket gophers. With that in mind, he gave weasels, fox, and coyotes a pass.

He was a farmer. That's what he felt he was, plain and simple.

He is survived by his loving wife of 75 years, Violet Nelson of Bismarck; one son, Paul "Rudy" Nelson of Bismarck; sisters-in-law, Alice (Jack) Wiese, Ruth Nathan, Mary Ann Nelson, & Janice Severson; and numerous nieces & nephews.

Merlin was preceded in death by his parents, brothers & sisters-in-law: Orval Nelson, Neil & Dorothy Nelson, Donny & Virginia Nelson; sisters & brothers-in-law, Fran & Wally Bastian, Eunice Bradford & husbands Irv Bauer and Milton Bradford, Blanche & Clarence Okerson, & Maureen & Bob Hochsprung; sisters-in-law & brothers-in-law, Frances & Severt, Bert & Shirley, Mel, and Richard.