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with honor, care and compassion |
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Arnold “Arnie” Smith
Born on October 30, 1924 in Brighton, Iowa, Arnie was the son of Arnold K. Sr. and Edith (Schooley) Smith. He grew up on the family farm in Brighton with his brother, Gerald and sister, Stella. As a young child, Arnie love to play ping-pong. In the sixth grade he even became the YMCA Champion Ping-Pong player. Arnie also loved to play football and basketball in his junior high and high school years and acquired the nickname of “Sunshine”. He graduated from Washington High School.
After high school, Arnie moved to Clinton, Iowa, where he attended a trade school to become a welder. Here is where he met the love of his life, Phyllis Francisco. They met though friends one evening as they drove around the town eating apples and the rest is history. Arnie and Phyllis exchanged wedding vows on March 11, 1943 in Coffey, Missouri.
Settling down to start their family in Clinton, Arnie joined the Army in 1943. He proudly served with the 88th Infantry Division in Italy until the late 1945. Upon returning from the service, he owned a furnace company in Iowa, until moving to Minnesota in 1952. There he worked for Gerber Industries in the shop. Here he was the foreman and the president of the company from 1976 to 1986 when he retired.
Arnie played and managed baseball for 11 years in Richfield where he helped initiate the Little League-Babe Ruth programs. He loved fishing, boating, golfing and entertaining. Arnie was an avid golfer at the New Prague Golf Course until his stroke in 2003. He was a member of the Prior Lake American Legion and the V.F.W. He loved life to its fullest and made our world a better place.
Arnold Smith, Jr. was 85 years young when he passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on Saturday, July 10, 2010 at his Prior Lake home.
He is loved and will be deeply missed by wife of 67 years, Phyllis Smith; son, Jim (Barbara) Smith of Centreville, Maryland; daughter, Carol (Bruce) Vetsch of Prior Lake; grandchildren, Diane (Dan) Peterson, Erik (Brita) Vetsch, Cindy Brown, Vikki (David) Healy and 7 great-grandchildren. Arnold is preceded in death by his parents, Arnold and Edith Smith, brother Gerald Smith and sister, Stella Forinash.
Arnie’s pallbearers will be Diane Peterson, Dan Peterson, Erik Vetsch, Brita Vetsch, Bruce Johnson and Larry Wilson.
Visitation will be on Tuesday, July 13 from 5-7 PM and also one hour prior to the Celebration of Life Service on Wednesday, July 14 at 11:00 AM, all at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, 4565 Pleasant Street SE. Prior Lake with Pastor Kyle Jackson officiating.
Interment will be on Thursday, July 15, 10:00 AM at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN. |
