Raymond F. Arnold

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ kept his final promise to Raymond Arnold, 81, and escorted him home to heaven on August 13, 2016 in Kenosha, WI. Ray was born in Bay City, MI, on December 10, 1934, to Johannes Friedrich and Marie (Boehm) Arnold. He was made a child of God through Holy Baptism at Zion Ev. Lutheran Church in Bay City on December 30. He was confirmed at St. John Ev. Lutheran Church in Bay City on March 21, 1948 and graduated from T. L. Handy High School and Bay City Junior College. On January 1, 1967, he married his wife of 49 years, Ann Brenner. He worked for Dow Chemical Company in Midland, MI, for 47 years and served for many years on various boards and committees of the churches he attended and sang in their choirs. Survivors include his wife, Ann; three children: the Rev. Matthew (Elisabeth) Arnold of Oconto Falls, WI; Laura (Stephen) Balza of New Ulm, MN; and Sarah (John) Heathcock of Racine, WI; nine grandchildren: Christian, Noah, Peter, and Emma Arnold; Micah, Jacob, and Grace Biesterfeld; and Lauren and Julia Heathcock. Ray was preceded in death by his parents and his three brothers: Clarence, Elmer, and Edward. The family will receive relatives and friends at Gephart Funeral Home in Bay City on Thursday, August 18, from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. and at St. John Ev. Lutheran Church in Bay City on Friday from noon to 1:00 P.M. The service of Christian funeral will be conducted at St. John at 1:00 P.M. Friday with the Rev. Paul Schaewe officiating. The family would like to thank all of the doctors, nurses, and staff of Aurora Medical Center and Brookside Care Center (both of Kenosha) who cared for Ray in his final weeks on this earth as well as the Rev. John Roekle and the Rev. Aaron Dolan from First Ev. Lutheran Church in Racine, WI, for their counsel and encouragement from God's Word. In lieu of flowers memorials may be given to the John and Ruth Brenner Scholarship at Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw, MI; Luther Preparatory School in Watertown, WI; or the First Ev. Lutheran Church Organ Fund in Racine, WI. "Then I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' 'Yes,' says the Spirit, 'they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.'"-Revelation 14:13