Howard Arndt

    Howard Arndt lived a life of hard work and community service, and his legacy reflects that.
    Mr. Arndt built a career centered around trucking. He and his brother-in-law Dean Yoho founded Belgium Trucking in 1953, then opened How-Dea Service Center on Highway 57 in Belgium to maintain their fleet as well as other vehicles in 1967.
    The name of the business reflected their names — “How” for Mr. Arndt, who was best known as Howie, and “Dea” for Mr. Yoho.
    In 1986, after seeing the amount of traffic on I-43, Mr. Arndt purchased a parcel near the freeway, moved the service center there and opened a truck stop.
    In May 1987, he and his wife Boots opened Hobo’s Korner Kitchen next to the center. Again, they took the business name from their own —”Ho” for Mr. Arndt and “Bo” for his wife.
    “At one point, between all the businesses, we had close to 100 employees,” Mr. Arndt’s daughter Sherry Mulloy said. “It was a lot of work.”
    But he balanced that with community service. Mr. Arndt was a member of the Belgium Lions Club for more than 60 years, and was an honorary member of the Belgium Fire Department.
    He was a member of the Belgium American Legion Post 412 and of St. Mark Lutheran Church for more than 10 years.
    He also served as village president from 1963 to 1974.
    “He wanted to see the village grow,” his daughter said. “He wanted things to get better. That was always his goal, to see things get better.”
    Mr. Arndt, 87, died at Belgium Gardens on Tuesday, April 3. He suffered from bronchiectasis, his daughter said.

He was a cook in the U.S. Army, and began his business after returning home.

“All the rest of his family was into farming. He took a different path,” his daughter said.

He operated the businesses with his brother-in-law until Mr. Yoho died in the 1970s, she said.

Mr. Arndt was always mechanically minded, his daughter noted.

“He was my handyman. He would take on anything. He could fix almost anything,” she said. “He loved to tinker.”

Mr. Arndt married Margaret “Boots” Rassel on July 24, 1954, at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Dacada.

Mr. Arndt loved to travel with his wife, and they especially enjoyed heading to their cabin in Crivitz.

Mr. Arndt loved to entertain, and was the consummate host, his daughter said, adding he had a great sense of humor whose jokes and one-liners will be repeated for years to come.

“My dad was the life of the party. If you were with him and you weren’t having a good time, something was wrong,” his daughter said. “He was very hospitable, and he always made sure people were taken care of.

“He lived by the golden rule, and he raised us to live by it. He never sat still. He enjoyed life.”

Mr. Arndt is survived by his children, Sandy (Dean) Townsend of St. Louis, John (Deborah) of Port Washington, Sherry (Mark) Mulloy of Belgium, Michele (Robert) Bruggink of Cedar Grove and Patrick (Jennifer) of Belgium, 16 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

He is further survived by his sister Sylvia Yoho of Random Lake, sisters-in-law Katherine Arndt and Judy Arndt, both of Random Lake, and his special friend Suzie of Grafton.

Mr. Arndt was preceded in death by his wife Margaret, daughter Barbara, siblings Letha LeClare, Geraine Eisentraut, Armin Arndt, Robert Arndt, Danny Arndt and Martin Arndt; sisters-in-law Janet and Katie Arndt; and brothers-in-law Robert LeClare, Joe Eisentraut and Dean Yoho.

A funeral service for Mr. Arndt was held Monday, April 9, at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Belgium. The Rev. Wayne King officiated.

Burial was in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Lake Church.

Funeral arrangements were handled through Eernisse Funeral Home, Belgium.