Kaethe L. Arnold, 89, of Iowa City, died of a stroke Saturday, March 15, 2014 at Solon Nursing Care Center.
A memorial service will begin Friday at 4:00 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church in Iowa City with Pastor Mark Pries presiding. Burial will be private at Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City. The family will greet friends Thursday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service in Iowa City.
Memorials may be directed to ELCA World Hunger or the Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity.
Kaethe was born December 16, 1924 in Klempin, Germany, the daughter of Otto and Elisabeth (Buss) Erdmann. She grew up on a prosperous farm with two sisters and two brothers. Along with her sisters and mother, she fled west from the Russian army in 1945. She became a Methodist deaconess in Hamburg, Germany and was trained as a dietician and registered nurse. She eventually became the head nurse at a private clinic. In 1954, her childhood friend Helmut Arnold wrote from America to propose marriage.
She accepted this proposal, sailed to New York, and married Helmut on May 6, 1955 in Oakland, Maryland. They initially settled in O’Neil, Nebraska, moving to Lincoln in 1960. She raised four children, worked at St. Elizabeth’s hospital, and was an active member of Epworth Methodist Church. They had many close friends among the eastern European immigrant community.
Following Helmut’s retirement, in 1991 the couple moved to Davenport, Iowa, to be close to their daughter Ingrid and her growing family, following on to Iowa City in 2002. They were members of Zion Lutheran Church, and made many new friends in the Longfellow neighborhood, at Legacy Pointe, and at the Solon Retirement Village.
Survivors include her husband Helmut of Iowa City; her children, Michael Arnold (Dianna Bolt) of Berkeley, California, Gretchen Housel (Willis) of Lincoln, Nebraska, Martin Arnold (Rachel Long) of Monroe, Wisconsin, Ingrid Goldenstein (Jeffrey) of Iowa City; grandchildren, Nathan Bolt, Benjamin Housel, Amy Housel, Reuben Arnold, Madeline Arnold, Paul Goldenstein, Ilsa Goldenstein, Emma Goldenstein and Daniel Goldenstein; and many nieces and nephews.
Kaethe was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Martin and Gerhard and sisters, Hanna and Frieda.
http://www.lensingfuneral.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=88735#/obituaryInfo
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