Melvin Sankey

Melvin Sankey, 86, of Willmar, died Saturday morning, November 2, at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, November 7, at the Willmar Christian Reformed Church. Interment will be at Fairview Cemetery in Raymond. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.

Melvin Sankey was born September 25, 1926, near Raymond, Minnesota, the son of Peter and Rica Sankey. He grew up and attended school in the rural Raymond community. He worked at the V-Store in Clara City. On December 20, 1963, he married Johanna (Tensen) DeVries and they made they home in Raymond. In 1967, they moved to Willmar, where Melvin worked at the Willmar Cookie Company until his retirement in the late 1980s. Melvin was a member of the Willmar Christian Reformed Church. He enjoyed gardening, taking care of his lawn and watching sports.

Melvin is survived by his children, Shirley (and Scott) Nelsen of Wisconsin and Alan (and Stacy) DeVries, Robert (and Ginger) Sankey, Jolene Sankey, Melissa Sankey and Pauline Sankey, all of Willmar; eight grandchildren, Alvin, Nicholas & Anne DeVries, Sarah & Jessica Miller, and Lucas, Jacob & Levi Sankey; two sisters: Geneva Bennett of St. Cloud and Ruth Burns of Wisconsin; and other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Johanna in 2005; three brothers, Joe, John and Wes; and three sisters, Connie, Bertha and Wilhelmina.