Sioux Falls: June 11, 1940 - Jan. 11, 2025

Melvin Spinar

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Melvin Spinar, 84, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, died Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, at United Living Community in Brookings, SD.
Mel’s life will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23, , at Miller Funeral Home Downtown, 507 S. Main Ave., Sioux Falls, SD. A luncheon reception will follow at Minerva’s Bar and Grill in downtown Sioux Falls.
Melvin Francis Spinar was born June 11, 1940, in Winner, South Dakota, to parents Jerry and Emma (Urban) Spinar. He grew up on the family farm near Colome, South Dakota, and attended Colome Public School, graduating from Colome High School in 1958. Following high school, he attended Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, South Dakota, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Art in 1962. From 1962 to 1965, he attended the State University of Iowa, Iowa City, and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in painting and drawing.
He moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and was the Art Department Chairman and teacher at the University of Sioux Falls for four years. From 1969 to 2003, Melvin was a Professor of Art in the Department of Visual Arts at South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota. He retired in 2003 as Professor Emeritus of Visual Arts.
Melvin was a successful artist whose work is displayed in national and regional exhibitions and is also represented in numerous private and public collections.
Mr. Spinar is survived by his two nephews, eight nieces, and his special friends, Eddie and Reina (Okawa) Welch.
Melvin was preceded in death by his parents, Jerry and Emma Spinar; his sisters, Anita Calhoon and Irene Fischer; and her husband, Vernon; and his brother, Leo, and his wife, Elaine Spinar.
Memorials may be directed to the “Milton Kudlacek and Melvin Spinar Fine Arts Scholarship,” Dakota Wesleyan University, 1200 W. University Ave., Mitchell, South Dakota, or the Tripp County Historical Society, East Highway 18, Winner, SD 57580.