Melvin F Mortensen

It is with great Joy and profound Sadness that our Father Melvin Frank Mortensen has moved on to see the Lord and to rejoin his beloved wife and best friend Carol Mae (Mitchell) Mortensen, our Mother. We always think about how his last breath here is his first breath in heaven. We are joyful that he will be with God and no longer suffers a gallant battle against COPD which slowing took his life, but sad that we will not have him with us as we continue our journey in life.

Dad was born in Burlington Wisconsin, March 5th, 1938 to Anita and Hans (Jerry) Mortensen. He grew up on a farm with his two sisters Margie Donaldson and Elaine Zurner. In High School he was a rebel greaser who built modified Hotrods out of different cars of that time and enjoyed many friends drag racing during the 50’s. He was said to have resembled Elvis Presley so much they called him Melvis by admiring friends of which he thought that was humorous.

When he was 17 he joined the Air Force and had a distinguished career of 21 years and did 3 tours in the Vietnam campaign. He flew over 2 million miles as a Tech Sargent, Radio Communications Technician Specialist. During that time in the service he traveled around the world 13 times as a flyboy having many adventures with his fellow servicemen. At the end of his career he was nominated to fly on Air Force One during Gerald Ford’s administration. He was part of an elite and distinguished secret squadron called (Looking Glass) which was a highly classified group and part of one of four aircraft that defended this nation during the cold war. He said he could not tell us what they did or else he would have to kill us. We always laughed at this statement but wondered if it might be true or not…wink, wink.

During his tenure in the service he had 3 incredibly talented, intelligent and good looking kids. Us! Smirk, wink: Jeffrey, Tammy and Tracy who followed him around the country during his years in the service. Our favorite destination was Waialua Hawaii of which our dad was with the Strategic Air Command at Hickam Airbase and also in South Dakota Ellsworth Airforce Base. Let’s not talk about the transition from paradise to pure winter hell during a snow blizzard…it was quit the adventure for my mom and us to adapt to that weather change overnight.

They both loved Hawaii and went back many times to visit. We are sure they are both sitting at the North Shore beach holding hands and watching the amazing Hawaiian sunset.

In closing, our dad had many friends and family members who have many fond memories, funny stories and naughty and fun adventures over his 81 years of life. We could not have asked for a more kind and generous father who will be missed dearly. Keep those memories to heart and thoughts to comfort you.

It is our best wish that everyone have a prayer for my dad’s final journey into the afterlife while flying on the wings of eagles.