John Melvin Nagel, 86, of Springfield

Funeral services will be 1 PM, Saturday, August 10, 2024 at the Emmanuel Reformed Church in Springfield. Burial will be in the Emmanuel Reformed Cemetery with military honors. Visitation will be from 5-7 PM at the church on Friday with sharing at 6:30 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorials will be directed to the Springfield Senior Meals Program and the Emmanuel Reformed Church Scholarship Program.

John Melvin Nagel was born in Springfield, SD on January 2, 1938, the son of John C. and Frances (Ludens) Nagel. He died Tuesday, August 6, 2024 at the St. Michael's Hospital in Tyndall.

John graduated from Springfield High School in 1956. He attended Northwestern College for a semester before returning back home to the farm. John served in the Army National Guard from 1957 to 1963.

John married Delina Herrmann on June 13, 1958 in Gregory. Together they farmed and raised their family in rural Avon until they moved into Springfield in 2009. They were great promoters of beef. John loved going to sale barns. John was a charter member of the National Cattlemen's Association in Sept of 1977. He served as President of the South Dakota Cattleman's Association from 1994-1995. He was named Cattleman of the Year by the association in 1997. He became an honorary member of the SDSU Block & Bridle in 1997. In 2000 he was named the Bon Homme County Conservation Farmer of the Year. In 2002 he was the NCBA Region VII winner of the 11th Annual Environmental Stewardship award. He was named the 2008 Maine-Anjou Feeder of the Year.

John was a very active member of the Emmanuel Reformed Church in Springfield where he served on many boards  and served as a Deacon, Elder and Youth Counselor. He was a member of the American Legion and was also a former member of the Avon School Board.

Delina died May 20, 2016 after a long courageous battle with cancer. On November 17, 2017, John was united in marriage to Beverly (Yule) Potts.

Family was very important to John and he will be remembered for being very active in the lives of his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He loved supporting them in their sporting events and enjoyed attending all of their activities.

Thankful for having shared his life are his wife Beverly of Springfield; three children: Jon Bryan and Angela (Powers) Nagel of Springfield, Brenda (Nagel) Bartels of Urbandale, IA, and Blane and Cindy (Sorenson) Nagel of Springfield; 9 grandchildren: John (Melissa) Nagel, Cassie Nagel, Jonalyn (Dan) Mulcahy, Tyler Bartels, Landon (Raya) Nagel, Shayna (Travis) Balvin, Chesney (Lewis) Hofer, Cheylee and Shalayne Nagel; 12 great-grandchildren: Mylee and Michael Branaugh, Sloane, Claire, and James Mulcahy, Rhykon, Rhykena, and Rhynlee Nagel, Swayze and Braelynn Balvin, Zoey and Isabel Hofer; brother Jay (Diane) Nagel of Belle Fourche; two sisters: Sandra Kay (Denny) Carlson of Golden Valley, MN and Linda (Roger) Hiles of Saginaw, MI; brothers-in-law: Donald Herrmann of Rapid City and Duwayne Herrmann Sr. of Texas; sisters-in-law: Darlene Nagel of Yankton, Nancy Nagel of Trumbull, CT, and Dianne French of Casper, WY; and many nieces and nephews.

John is preceded in death by his parents; wife Delina; son-in-law Darwin Bartels; brothers Jim Nagel and Jan Nagel; sisters-in-law Doris Herrmann and Delphine Buffington; and niece Christina Herrmann.