Kimberly Ann Klipfel-Melillo

Kimberly “Kim” Klipfel Melillo, 53, passed away on Aug. 8, 2020 in New Jersey. Due to COVID-19, a private family service was held on Monday at Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck, with Msgr. Richter officiating. A recording of the funeral service will be available on the funeral home’s website soon.

Burial was held at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Bismarck.

Kim was born on January 15, 1967 to Konnie (Evenson) Wightman and Darrell Klipfel in Ellendale. She was born on the first Super Bowl Sunday, which was only four weeks later than her predicted birth date. She was late but she was worth the wait!

After graduation from Ellendale University, the family moved to Holdingford, Minnesota, where Darrell and Konnie taught for six years. Kim’s first brother, Colin, was born in St. Cloud, MN, We loved the town and the school district. The family made lifelonge friends with the Czajkowski family and took many family trips to the Black Hills and ND Badlands after we left. It was tough for us to leave Holdingford.

We moved to Bismarck and Kim attended Will Moore School where Mr. Eslinger was her first Bismarck teacher. Kim was a cheerleader at Hughes and BHS. The friendships she made with other cheerleaders Tracy, Kari, Kathy, Lisa and so many others lasted through her lifetime.

Kim’s most precious gift from God, was her clear, beautiful, voice which she used as a gift to share in Huskie Singers in junior high, the BHS Choir, as a cantor for the Cathedral Masses on Saturdays and Sundays, and in small groups at BHS. Touring Europe as a member of the BHS Choir was a major thrill for her.

She graduated from BHS in 1985 and went to BSC for two years. She wanted to go live with her aunt and uncle in Denton, Texas, for the next year to attend school and help care for her cousins, Zach and Nellie, who always adored Kim. She graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in Education Counseling. It was during this time that Kim met the love of her life, Mark Melillo.

Post-college Kim worked with and provided counseling to individuals with eating and substance abuse disorders. She then joined the state of Texas as an employment counselor from 1996 to 2004. During that time, she also worked part-time as a physical fitness trainer. She then worked in the Somerset County Library system in New Jersey for the next 13 years. Within that time frame, she practiced and became a Yoga teacher. Kim helped others to learn to connect to the mind and body as a lifestyle and therapeutic approach to healing. Over the years, Kim selflessly served to counsel and assist many individuals on their personal path to whole well-being.

She married Mark Melillo on Sept. 5, 2006. The two resided in New Jersey.

Kim is survived by her husband, Mark; parents, Konnie and Dixon Wightman, and Darrell and Rose Klipfel; stepsisters, Mary Bradley and Susan Eichhorn; brother, Colin (Michelle); nieces, Mara, Paityn and Saige Klipfel; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Tobias Klipfel; grandparents, Christ and Ida Klipfel, and Lyle and Alice Evenson; and uncle, Ken Klipfel.