Frank W. Arnold

Frank W. Arnold, 80, of Garner died Thursday (June 5, 2008) at the Concord Care Center in Garner.

Memorial services will be held 10:30 A.M., Thursday, June 12th at the United Methodist Church in Garner with Rev. David Wagner officiating. Inurnment will be 1:00 P.M., Thursday at Madison Township Cemetery in Forest City with military rites by the Forest City American Legion Post 121.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 P.M., Wednesday at the Cataldo Funeral Chapel in Garner and will continue one hour prior to services at the church.

Frank William Arnold, the son of Frank and Laura (Makin) Arnold, was born June 25, 1927, at Forest City. He grew up in Forest City and attained the rank of Eagle Scout with two palms in Boy Scout Troop 18. He graduated from Forest City High School in 1945 and enlisted in the Army Air Force Cadet Program. He served in the European Theater of Operations with the 51st Air Troop Carrier Wing, 9th Air Force, as a crew chief. Frank was also a member of the 508th AAF Band. After his honorable discharge, Frank returned to Forest City and attended Waldorf College. On December 31, 1947, he married Betty Ann Schulz at the United Methodist Church in Forest City. To this union, three children were born, Jean Ann, Frank Gustav and John Michael. Frank began his employment in the Postal Service on June 1, 1947, serving as a city carrier until 1951. He was then transferred to Rural Route No. 3, where he served until 1972. Upon his retirement from the USPS on June 27, 1972, he worked at Winnebago and Waldorf College as a security officer. In the fall of 1973, Frank moved to Tucson, AZ, where he worked for Continental Security. Upon returning to Forest City, he served as Chief of Police at Buffalo Center during the summer of 1974. Frank then worked at Bill’s Red Owl for 14 months before joining Winnebago as a security officer in November of 1975. He remained there until December of 1977, at which time he and Betty moved to Reno, NV. He went to work for the MGM Grand-Reno, on January 27th as mailroom supervisor. He started alone setting up the system and later the mailroom and 8 employees. On July 11, 1978, he resigned as supervisor and became an armed MGM security officer in the largest casino in the world. He left MGM security on January 28, 1984, retiring at that time on medical leave due to illness. While living in the Reno area, they were fortunate to travel extensively. In August of 1994, Frank and Betty returned to the Garner-Forest City area. Frank and Betty were able to enjoy 60 years of marriage.

Frank was very active and held offices in many organizations. He was a member of the Garner United Methodist Church, participated in the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and taught First Aid for 14 years. He was member of the County ARC Board for many years, was a member of the Forest City Fire Dept. for 18 years, Winnebago County Emergency Radio Net, Methodist Church Board and was Sunday school superintendent. He held county and district offices in the Iowa Rural Letter Carrier Assoc. and was named Outstanding Carrier of the 6th District of Iowa in 1969. He was a member of the Forest City American Legion Post 121 for 50 years and also held positions of Vice Commander, Commander and Honor Guard. Frank was also a member of the Garner VFW Post 5515.

He is survived by his wife, Betty, of Garner; daughter, Jean Ann of North Miami, FL; sons, Frank Gustav Arnold of Garner and John Michael Arnold of Forest City; a former daughter-in-law, Brenda; four grandchildren, Chuck, Teresa, Maia and Michael; seven great-grandchildren, Miranda, Mitchel, Magan, Nathaniel, Dustin, Alexis and Zander; and sisters-in-law, Winona Schulz of Garner and Lois (Merlyn) Schmoll of West Liberty.

He was preceded in death by his parents; parents-in-law, Gus and Anna Schulz; brothers-in-law, Glen Schulz in infancy and Donald Schulz; and a sister-in-law, Darlene (Schulz) Adams.