Melba Irene Farnik, 89, passed away at Valley View Villa on Sunday, August 28 ^th .

She was born December 24 ^th , 1932, in Brush to Lloyd E. Pollock and Florence L. (Hancock) Pollock. The family also lived in Nevada and California before returning to Fort Morgan in the mid-1940s. As a teenager, Melba worked the soda fountain at the Yates drug store and as a nurses' assistant at the old original Fort Morgan hospital in the Great Western Sugar dormitory building. She met and married Jacob Farnik Jr., a farmer and cattleman from the Peace Valley community of northern Morgan County, on September 24, 1950. Five children were born of their union: daughter Linda, sons Steven, Mark, and Jeffrey, and daughter Faye.

Melba was a full-time mother and homemaker and enjoyed participating in the neighborhood ladies' Thimble Club and neighborhood card clubs. After she lost her son Mark to a tragic accident in 1963, thoughtful neighbors sent two ministers who brought Melba the message she had been seeking for many years. In October 1963, Melba and Jacob made their choice to walk with God.

Melba delighted in hospitality. She loved preparing and hosting big meals for family and friends. When she became a grandmother, she doted on her grandchildren. She also enjoyed artistic pursuits such as ceramics and oil painting during her mid-life years.

In 1991, Melba and Jacob retired from farming and moved to Brush. Annual family gatherings to watch the fireworks from their yard on the Fourth of July were held for the next 22 years, along with other holidays and many birthdays. Melba and Jacob also had the privilege of a Sunday morning fellowship meeting in their home for several years before Jacob passed in 2016.

Melba became a resident of Valley View Villa in January 2020 and lived out her final years there. She is survived by 3 children: Faye Buell of Brush; Jeffrey Farnik, and his wife Margaret of New Raymer, their children Mark "Storm" Farnik of Newark, Ohio, and Jamie Farnik of New Raymer; and Steven Farnik and his wife Lanette of New Raymer, their children Spencer Farnik and his wife Danica of Brush, Todd Farnik and his wife Naleta of New Raymer, Mitchell Farnik of Lochbouie, Vanessa Olmstead and her husband Kenneth of Portales, New Mexico, and Jared Farnik of Sterling. Melba had 11 great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her brother Harold Pollock or Ft. Morgan. She was preceded in death by her husband Jacob Farnik, Jr., two children, Linda and Mark; her sisters Norma Jean Pflager, Evelyn Lewis, Shirlee Wilson, Wanda Pollock, and her parents.

A celebration of life service will be held at the Heer Mortuary chapel, 225 E. Platte Avenue, Fort Morgan, on Friday Sept. 9 ^th at 4:00 p.m. The service will conclude at the chapel. Family and friends are invited to gather after the service at the fellowship hall of the United Methodist Church, 117 E. Bijou Avenue. In celebration of Melba's love of butterflies and birds, we welcome those in attendance to wear clothing or jewelry that represent those pieces of God's creation that she found so uplifting.  It is respectfully requested that masks be worn during the service in consideration of the health and safety of all in attendance.