Funeral services for Irvin Stelter, age 86, of Elgin, ND, will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 4, 2013 at the Elgin Community Center. Martin Wilson and Iver Haakonson will officiate with burial to follow in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 3, 2014 at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Elgin, ND.

Irvin Claude Stelter was born on June 17, 1927, to Henry and Marie (Schmidke) Stelter in Elgin, ND. In the fall of 1927, his parents traded farms with a realtor and moved to Greeley, CO. In 1930 they moved back to their original farm south of Elgin. Irvin attended country school through the eighth grade.

He farmed with his parents south of Elgin and in the later years he took over the family farm. Irvin sold the farm in 1979 and moved he and his mother into Elgin. Now, he had time to enjoy fishing. He also spent many nights playing Aggravation with friends.

Irvin married Rachel Miller on August 10, 1997 and they lived in Elgin. Rachel passed away on October 13, 2010. Irvin moved to Dakota Hill Housing in April of 2011. There was never a time that a staff member would come into Irvin's room to do their task without him sharing a little story from the past. He was very comfortable living at Dakota Hill, since he knew most everyone who worked there and their families.

Irvin passed away on Tuesday, December 31, 2013 at the Jacobson Memorial Hospital in Elgin.

He is survived by his niece, Betty (John) Fettig, Bismarck, ND; niece-in-law, Naomi Friez, Bismarck, ND; great nephews, Scott Fettig, Minneapolis, MN, Darrel (Holly) Fettig, Menoken, ND, Jason (Kayla) Friesz, Fargo, ND and Matthew Friesz, Houston, TX; great-great nephews, Johnathan and Joseph Fettig, Menoken, ND and Ethan Friesz, Fargo, ND; and a great-great niece, Marissa Langseth, St. Paul, MN.

Irvin was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Rachel; his sister, Martha Friesz-Flemmer; his brothers-in-law, Robert Friesz and Ed Flemmer; and nephew, Mark Friesz.