Gerald Arnzen

Gerald B. Arnzen, age 79 of St. Rosa, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Saturday, October 22, 2016 at his home near St. Rosa, Minnesota.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, October 25 at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in St. Rosa with Rev. Dan Walz. Interment will be in the parish cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and from 9 to 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose. Parish prayers will be held at 5 p.m. and a rosary will be said by the St. Rosa Lions and Holy Name Society at 7 p.m. Monday evening at the funeral home.

Gerald Ben Arnzen was born October 28, 1936 to Henry and Anna (Ritter) Arnzen in St. Rosa, Minnesota on their family farm. Gerald's final wish was to die in the same house he was born, which he did. Gerald was united in marriage to Arlene Middendorf on September 2, 1959 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Melrose. Together they farmed until they retired in 1996. Gerald also worked for his brothers at Arnzen Contruction and Arnzen Trucking.

Gerald was an active member of the St. Rose of Lima Church in St. Rosa and also took care of marking the cemetery plots for over 40 years. He was a member of the Holy Name Society and charter member of the St. Rosa Lions, where he received the Helen Keller and Melvin Jones awards. He was a very proud member of the Lions and the membership director.

Gerald's passions were farming, playing cards, fishing, hunting, and driving his 4-wheeler and golf cart. But most of all he enjoyed spending time with his wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and friends. His fondest memories are taking the kids fishing to Wolf Lake, going to St. Rosa for a drink, and just having people over to visit. His kind heart, big smile, well-known voice with lots of stories will be deeply missed.

Gerald is survived by his wife of 57 years, Arlene of St. Rosa; his children, John (Lillian) Arnzen, Bonnie (Mark) Stangler, Henry Arnzen, Mike (Beth) Arnzen, Fred (Linda) Arnzen, all of St. Rosa, and Julie (Jerry) Engelmeyer of Merrifield, MN; sister, Emily (Denis) Schneider of Meire Grove; 15 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Gerald was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Anna Arnzen; brothers, Jerome, Joe, Roy, and Virgil Arnzen; and sister, Rita Boeckermann.

Serving as casket bearers will be John Arnzen, Henry Arnzen, Mike Arnzen, Fred Arnzen, Mark Stangler, and Jerry Engelmeyer. Cross bearer will be Jason Arnzen and scripture bearer will be Sara Revermann. Reader will be Jodi Maus and petitions will be read by Brenda Greeley. Gift bearers will be Cassandra and Jordan Arnzen. Mass servers will be Luke and Eli Engelmeyer. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be the St. Rosa Lions.