Obituary of Allen Arnold

Allen Arnold passed away peacefully on November 23, 2017, at Wesley Acres, Des Moines, Iowa at the age of 94. Funeral services will be held at the Lake Park Methodist Church in Lake Park, Iowa at 10:30am on Monday, December 4th. Visitation will be on Sunday, December 3rd from 3:00pm to 5:00pm at the Turner Funeral Home in Lake Park, Iowa. Allen was born on April 14, 1923 on a farm near Lake Park, Iowa to Carl and Christine Arnold. He was the youngest of five children, Dorothy, Elaine, Keith and Lee. Allen was active in band, chorus, football, basketball, and track. He graduated from Sibley High School in 1941. In his senior year, he met Mary Jean Harjehausen. After high school, Allen attended and graduated from Aero Tech in Glendale, California where he was trained to service and repair aircraft engines. He was then employed with Pan American World Airways in San Francisco. After the start of World War II, Pan-American was taken over by the Naval Air Transport Service and Allen was sworn into the Navy. In early 1943, Allen was sent to Ford Island at Pearl Harbor to work on overhauling sea planes. In 1944, he was transferred back to Treasure Island in San Francisco. Allen and Mary were married on May 11, 1944 in Sibley, Iowa and lived in San Francisco until 1945. They moved back to Sibley, Iowa and Allen worked for his father at a grain and livestock company and later for his Uncle Clayton, at Arnold Grain and Livestock Co. In 1951, Allen purchased the Grain and Livestock business from his uncle. He owned and operated this business for 26 years. Under his management, the storage capacity grew substantially and he implemented an automated hydraulic system capable of loading 54 boxcars in a day. During this time, he worked extensively with Rock Island and Pacific Railroad to initiate train routes hauling grain to the Gulf of Mexico and to obtain funds for track improvement in the Northwest Iowa area. Due to his efforts to save the Rock Island railroad line through Spirit Lake and Lake Park, Rock Island had his name put on a Rock Island engine. He sold Arnold Grain & Feed to the local Co-op in 1977 and continued to work for them for two years. Allen was a civic leader in Lake Park, instrumental in the building of the hospital in Spirit Lake, the swimming pool and more recently by providing the land for the Harris-Lake Park High School. In 1979, Allen and Mary moved to Des Moines and Allen started working for Clayton Brokerage as a commodity broker. He worked for them for five years until he formed a corporation called US Commodities, Inc. In 1990, he obtained a commercial real estate license and worked doing appraisals and sales of country elevators and feed mills. Allen was Director of the Iowa Grain and Feed Association of Des Moines, Director of the National Grain and Feed Association, was on the board of the Dickinson County Memorial Hospital for 18 years, Director of the IGF Insurance Company of Des Moines, Director of the Blue Cross Insurance Company of Western Iowa and all of South Dakota, President of the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, and the Lake Park Development Corporation. He was President of the Lake Park Methodist Church board and taught Sunday school classes for over 15 years. Allen and Mary loved traveling and went on many trips with People to People tours to 22 countries. They also enjoyed many years wintering in Scottsdale, Arizona. Allen is survived by his wife of 73 years, Mary, and children, Dr. David Arnold (Lana) of Dubuque, IA, Richard Arnold (Mary) of Colorado Springs, CO, Deb Osterhout (Dean) of Kelley, IA, Laura Bray(Richard) of Chanhassen, MN. Twelve grandchildren include Chad Arnold( Heather), Carl Arnold (Katie), Wade Arnold (Shannon), Craig Arnold, Dr. Benjamin Arnold (Dr. Terrell Singleton), Jillian Mayles (Dr. Jonathan Mayles), Jason Arnold, Lynn Brownrigg (Trent), Leah Pudenz (Shane), Dana Osterhout, Austin Bray and Christian Bray. He also has fifteen great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Carl and Christine Arnold, brothers Keith and Lee Arnold, and sisters Dorothy Arnold and Elaine Arnold Rensink. Memorial contributions may be made to Lake Park Methodist Church or Wesley Acres Good Samaritan Fund.