Lester " Les " Arnold

LIFESTORY:

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Lester "Les" Arnold led a great life with honesty, integrity and respect. Described as genuine, funny, devoted, hardworking and loving, he was the kind of man other men looked up to. Les spent his life balancing hard work with being a loving father and husband, and he never compromised when it came to his family.

As the United States was celebrating a time of temporary peace and prosperity between the two world wars, William and Myrtle (Gillespie) Arnold of Muskegon, Michigan, had a celebration of their own with the birth of their son, Lester John, on March 7, 1924. The youngest of three children, Les grew up in a loving home on Superior Street, along with his older sister, Garnett, and brother, Verle. His parents worked hard in their restaurant called "Arnold's Restaurant" on Getty Street, across from Getty Inn in Muskegon. As with everyone, the Great Depression made living very hard and the Arnolds took in boarders at the restaurant in order to make ends meet.

Les enjoyed a happy childhood. He received his education at St. Mary's Elementary School, where uniforms were mandatory and Les had to wear a v-neck sweater every day. He went on to attend St. Mary's Catholic High School, but left at the age of 17, to marry a young lady named Eilene Clover. Shortly thereafter, Les received his draft notice from the U.S. Army, just like his brother Verle. Tragically, Verle was killed in combat in France, for which his parents received his Purple Heart. The Arnolds were truly heartbroken by their loss, and could only hope that Les would not meet the same fate. Thankfully, he returned home safely to his family when the war ended and he greeted his new baby son Butch.

Although the war was over, Les still had some rough years ahead of him. Shortly after returning home, Les and Eilene divorced, and some time thereafter, both his parents died. But things took a turn for the better in 1946, when he was set up on a blind date with Lois Lauterberg, through his friend, Leo Langlois. The two took it nice and slow for a while, and simply enjoyed each other's company going fishing, to the movies and having ice cream together. Over time, Les and Lois knew they were meant for each other, and were happily married on June 7, 1947, in the Rectory of St. Mary's Catholic Church. The newlyweds honeymooned in northern Michigan, before settling into married life together in an apartment in Muskegon. In 1954, the couple built a home at 236 Casenelli Avenue in North Muskegon, where Les lived out the rest of his life. A year later, they added the pitter patter of little feet to their home with the birth of their daughter, Marie Louise, on May 28, 1955. Little Marie was truly her parents' pride and joy, and Les proudly brought her home from the hospital in his brand new 1955 Buick.

Les and Lois raised Marie in their quiet, family-oriented community, where she attended North Muskegon Elementary School and graduated from North Muskegon High School. She then went off to college, which made them very proud. The family attended St. Mary's Catholic Church on Sundays to give Marie a Catholic upbringing. At the time, Lois was working at Shaw Box Crane in Muskegon, but left after Marie was born to stay at home with her. She was the traditional stay-at-home mom, who sewed, cooked and attended PTA meetings. Although Les worked many long hours, and was required to travel a lot, he was happy to return to his two favorite girls. They took many family vacations to places like Disneyland, Cape Canaveral and to the ocean.

Starting in 1946, Les had a longtime career as an iron worker with the Iron Workers Local #340. Over the next 40 years as he grew in his trade he became a business agent and was responsible for placing men on jobs, problem solving, negotiating and visiting various work sites. A couple of his big projects included working on the smoke stack at the Cobb Plant in Muskegon, and the hydraulic filtration system in Ludington. Les took great pride in his work, and had an impeccable work reputation. Although Les would "Boom Out" for the big jobs, he was always fair and loyal to his workers, and in turn they respected him greatly. Yet, he just couldn't help telling some big and scary stories of the dangers of iron work. Les happily retired on August 1, 1985, but he missed the men and the work every day.

After retiring, Les spent much of his time in his garden, which he loved. He and Lois enjoyed traveling more extensively to places around the country where they could go sightseeing, like San Antonio and Tampa. One of Les' favorite "hot spots", however, was Las Vegas (he loved going to casinos), and they enjoyed many great trips there to visit with Jim and Elaine Arnold. Sadly, in 1994, Lois was diagnosed with cancer, which she valiantly battled for four years. During that time, Les was her constant, loving caregiver and always by her side. She lost her battle on January 30, 1998, leaving Les truly heartbroken and alone after 51 wonderful years of marriage. Les eventually found a special friend in Irene Christensen and they enjoyed each others companionship. Les grew to know and admire Irene's family and they to grew very close to him also. Les was later diagnosed with Emphysema.

Les will be deeply missed, but he leaves behind the memory of his warm smile, enthusiasm for life and his deep love for his family. His life has been a great adventure.

Lester "Les" John Arnold, age 83, of North Muskegon, Michigan, died on Sunday, May 13, 2007, with his daughter, Marie, and family friends by his side. He is survived by his son, Clarence "Butch" (Becky) Arnold of Alabama; daughter, Marie Arnold of North Muskegon; 2 grandchildren, granddaughter, Angie ( Jeff ) Jadwin and great-grandchildren, Heather Purvis, Marshall & Hannah Jadwin; grandson, Lester Arnold and great-granddaughter Leslie; special friend, Irene Christiansen of Muskegon; 2 nieces, Mary (Robert) Woodruff of N. Muskegon, Betty Kalasno of California; 3 nephews, Robert (Fran) True of Texas, Ronald (Kathleen) True of Colorado & James (Elaine) Arnold of Texas. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lois, his brother, Verle, and sister, Garnett. Services for Les will be held on Friday, May 18, at 11:00 a.m. at Clock Chapel. Interment at Laketon Township Cemetery. Friends and relatives may visit his family on Friday from 10 a.m. until the time of service at Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory or photo of Les or sign his online guest book