The Memorial Service for Joseph F. Kelsch, age 98 of Mott, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at St. Vincent's Catholic Church in Mott. Fr. Charles Zins will officiate with inurnment in Sunnylsope Cemetery at Mott.


Special music will be provided by Pat Schwartz and Wade Hoherz.


JOSEPH FRANK KELSCH was born May 21, 1912 near Bentley, ND. Joe was the son of Adam and Elizabeth (Schmidt) Kelsch. Joe was raised and educated in the Bentley area on a homesteaded farm along with six sisters and one brother. In 1934, he was united in marriage to the country schoolhouse teacher, Eleanor McIntyre in Bentley, ND.


After farming for a while, and attending mechanic school, Joe attended barber college in Fargo, ND. Upon graduation, the family, which had expanded to two sons and one daughter, headed west to San Diego, CA. After two years of barbering for the Marine Corps, and teaching Barber College, Joe and his family returned to North Dakota to open a barber shop in Mott. Shortly thereafter, Joe had saved enough money to purchase a small cattle herd and went back into ranching, the work he loved the most. Over his lifetime, Joe became well known for his knowledge of and expertise raising cattle. When taking calves to market, the buyers could always tell "Joe Kelsch" cattle because of their great conditioning.


Joe was a hard working man who devoted his life to caring for his cattle and his land. As a tough, no nonsense kind of person, for over 80 years he did the physical labor of making hay, feeding silage, moving cattle, fixing fence, as well as getting up all hours of the night to tend to his cows during calving. In his later eighties, Joe was delighted that he could still throw heavy hay bales onto his pickup and was well known to drive around Mott showing of his skills.


His wife, Eleanor, passed away in October of 2001. Joe passed from this life on Thursday, May 27, 2010 at the Good Samaritan Nursing Center in Mott.


Joe is survived by his 100 year old sister, Betty Yarosh, Mott, ND; two sons, Gary Kelsch, Richardton, ND, Rex (Shari) Kelsch, Mott, ND; one daughter, Deanna (Doug) Johnson, Bismarck, ND; five grandchildren, Tracey, (James) Johnson, and Joel Kelsch, Mott, ND, Jason (Holly) and Kristofor (Celeste) Johnson, Bismarck, ND, Tyler Johnson, Hamilton, MT, and four great grandchildren, Jamison Johnson, Mott, ND and Jack, Ava, and Liam Johnson, Bismarck, ND.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Eleanor, five sisters, Lou Roebuck, Anna Hoherz, Eva Fornham, Rose Manolovits, and Irene Luchsinger; one brother, William Kelsch.