Boundary County ID Archives Obituaries.....Mesenbrink, Herman Allen April 21, 2006
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Bonners Ferry Herald, Thursday, April 27, 2006
   Herman Allen Mesenbrink, 74 passed away on April 21, 2006 while snowmobiling
at Phoebe’s Tip in the Cow Creek Meadows area.  Funeral services will be held at
2 p.m. Friday, Aril 28, 2006 at the Wellspring Community Church in Bonners
Ferry, with internment immediately following in Grandview Cemetery.
   Herman was born on December 19, 1931 to John August and Dorthea Mildred
LaFountain Mesenbrink on their homestead in the Skin Creek area.  He joined his
two older brothers, Eugene, who was born in 1927, and Rene, who was born in
1929.  Subsequently, their youngest brother; Joseph, was born in 1945.
   He started his education at Buckhorn Elementary School, which he attended for
8 years.  Thereafter; he attended Bonners Ferry High School, where he graduated
in 1949.  During the school year, his parents moved Herman, along with his
mother and his two older brothers, to Bonners Ferry for the cold winters.  His
father stayed behind at the family homestead to maintain and care for the farm.
 Around the seventh grade, Herman started his official working career, when he
handled a paper route in Bonners Ferry for a couple years.  During his junior
and senior year in high school, he worked for Winston Cook at Cook’s Electric as
a radio repairman.
   During the four years following high school, he worked with his father, John,
on the family farm.  In 1953, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served in
the Korean War while being stationed in Japan.  Afterwards, he was in the Air
Force Reserves for eigh years.  Upon his return to Boundary County, he purchased
a sawmill and relocated it to the former family farm site on old Highway 2.
   During this time, he met his future wife, Carol Lee Vetter, daughter of
Maynard and Helen Raveling Vetter, at a dance at the Curly Creek Hall.  During
the festivities, Herman’s mother was hounding him to dance.  Upon hearing that
he would only dance with girls he knew and he didn’t know anyone at the
festivity, his mother drug him across the dance floor, introduced him to Carol,
and told him “Okay, now you know someone, so dance.”  They eventually married on
July 15, 1961.  Herman and Carol had six children together; Sandra Denise (born
in 1962), Vicki Sue (born in 1964), Christopher Rene (born in 1965), Mark Allen
(born in 1969), Craig Eugene (born in 1973), and Dean Vincent (born in 1976).
   In 1969, Herman and Carol purchased 18 acres immediately due west of the
Moyie River Bridge.  Two years later, the sawmill was moved here and their
family home was built.  Herman and Carol lived and worked here at the time of
his death.
   During Herman’s life, he devoted numerous hours to community service.
   He was elected to and served on the City Council of Moyie Springs for 24
years, the Boundary County Planning and Zone Committee for eight years, and the
Boundary County Board of County Commissioners for eight years (four of these
eight years he acted as the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners).  He
also participated in the Soil Conservation Service and the American Legion.
   Herman had two passions in life; working and snowmobiling.  Regarding work,
he spent countless hours at the sawmill to not only provide and care for his
family, but to also produce a high quality timber product to his customers. 
Herman was known in the community as a fair and ethical business man.  In 2001,
Herman was named “Bull of the Woods” during the 11th Annual North Idaho
Timberfest held in Sandpoint, Idaho.
   Because of Herman’s passion for snowmobiling, he opened an Artic Cat
dealership in 1970, which he operated for approximately 15 years.  
   Throughout his lifetime not only did he race snowmobiles, but he also spent
hours upon hours exploring the mountains of Boundary County.  Herman loved
telling stories of his snowmobile adventures with Dean Zimmerman, his sons, his
brothers, and other family and friends.
   Herman was passionately devoted to his family, especially his children and
grandchildren.  Nothing brought a bigger or more satisfying smile to his face
than when his entire family was gathered together, whether for a birthday, a
wedding, or the holidays.  The laughter and fun had by all brought immense peace
and contentment to his soul.
   Herman had a deep concern for helping others, as evident in the number of
times he put others before himself – he stayed home from college to take care of
his mother and ill father; he worked hard and earned money for others to go to
college; and he helped others with their business ventures.
   Herman is survived by his wife of 44 years, Carol Lee Mesenbrink, of Moyie
Springs, Idaho; his daughter Sandra Jones and her husband Mark, of Snohomish,
Wash.; his daughter Vicki, of Thousand Oaks, Calif.; his son Chris and his wife
Valerie, of Hayden, Idaho; his son Mark, of Kettle Falls, Wash.; his son Craig
and his wife Destiney, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho his son Dean and his wife Alana,
of Libby, Mont; his brother Rene, of Moyie Springs; his brother Joe, of Moyie
Springs, two grandsons, Logan and Kyren; three granddaughters, Alexis, Christin,
and Kyndal; and numerous nieces and nephews.
   He is preceded in death by his mother and father; John and Dorthea
Mesenbrink; his brother, Eugene Mesenbrink; and his nephew, Jeffery Mesenbrink.






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