John Wilhelm Niemitalo, Sr. passed away in Stanley, North Dakota on June 22, 2019. He was born on June 26, 1916 to Charles and Hilja Niemitalo in Belden, ND. John attended country schools near Belden and a year of high school in Stanley. He graduated from the Hanson Auto Mechanical and Electrical School in Fargo in January 1935 after which he worked for the Ford Garage in Stanley for five years. He moved to Seattle, WA in 1941 and became a welder for the US Navy Shipyard. John and Mayme Kannianen were married in Seattle on June 9, 1941.They returned to North Dakota soon after their marriage and John opened the Stanley Machine Shop which he owned for five years. John and Mayme then moved to the Niemitalo farm in Belden. John farmed and established the Belden Machine Shop on his farm.

John was a lifelong member of the Apostolic Lutheran Church. After he and Mayme retired in the 1970s, they became snowbirds and enjoyed their winters in Arizona. John took up horseshoes there and was good at it, winning numerous tournaments and trophies. He also enjoyed lapidary and went on rock hunting and gold panning trips to the Arizona deserts and mountains. He made rock clocks, table tops and pen sets for gifts. His summer hobby was making scale model steam engines and pumpjacks. He made all the parts for his productions.

John was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Mayme and sons, John Jr., Thomas, and Vaughn.

He is survived by his sons, Wesley (Ann), Douglas (Marla), Keith (Pam), Steven; daughters, Sharon Lehr (David) and Paula LaPrise (Kevin); grandsons, Dean, Jacob (Jessica), Kevin (Kerri) and Dan (Laura); granddaughters, Ann McDermott (Brian), Kristen Niemitalo-Woods (Brady), Megan and Sara and eight great-grandchildren.