Alice J. Melgaard

Alice J. Melgaard, age 90, formerly of Yankton, South Dakota and Pierre, South Dakota, died Thursday, March 31, 2022, at Epworth Villa in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Funeral services will be 2:00 PM on April 9, 2022, at the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home in Yankton, South Dakota, with Reverend Katie Ricke officiating.  Burial will be in the Garden of Memories Cemetery in Yankton, South Dakota.  The family will receive friends one hour prior to the funeral at the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home. Alice J. Melgaard was born on December 13, 1931, in Scotland, South Dakota to Gottlieb and Freda (Bauder) Mogck and grew up on a farm in the Scotland area.  After graduating from Scotland High School, she pursued her teaching certificate from Southern State Teacher’s College in Springfield, South Dakota and taught in a one room country school for several years. In 1955, she married a handsome young man just returned from the Korean conflict. He made her heart flutter for the next 57 years. She and James Arlin Melgaard had two children, Melinda and Robert.  Alice was a proud, life-long South Dakotan. She spent the early years of her married life in Yankton and then moved to Pierre until her husband’s death in 2012.  Returning to Yankton she enjoyed time with family, her daily coffee groups at Hy-Vee, concerts at Mount Marty and bingo until the summer of 2019 when she moved to Oklahoma to be closer to her children. Alice was a hard worker. She began her career in the classroom and transitioned into sales.  She enjoyed the 25 years she worked for The Hollywood, a bridal and tuxedo shop in Pierre, before finally retiring in her early 80’s. She loved spending time with family and friends.  She enjoyed travelling and visited Hawaii, Alaska, Canada and many countries in Europe.  A picture of her and her husband standing near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was always on her nightstand.  She also spoke fondly of vacationing in the Black Hills with the grandchildren.  She was an active lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church and a member of the VFW Auxiliary, Eastern Star and other organizations dedicated to doing good works. Alice was a joy to be around.  Her love, kindness and sense of humor will be missed greatly by her family and friends. She is survived by her children: Melinda (Marlin) Bruxvoort and Robert (Elizabeth) Melgaard; grandchildren, James Nesthus and Kristen (Coty) Clarke; great-grandson, Carson Clarke; brothers: Vermaine Mogck and Darrell (Jeanne) Mogck and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband and sister-in-law, Edna.  

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