Belva Arnold

Belva C. Arnold, age 92 of Elysian, died on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at Pathstone Living in Mankato.   Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, April 9th at 10:30 a.m. at St. Ann Catholic Church in Janesville with Fr. Peter Klein, Celebrant. Interment will be in the St. Anne's Church Cemetery in Kimball, Minnesota.   The Arnold Family will greet family and friends at the visitation on Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Arnoldt-McRaith Funeral Home & Crematory in Janesville, and will continue on Saturday morning for one hour prior to services, at church in Janesville. Further visitation will be held after 3 p.m. Saturday at the Dingmann Funeral Care Chapel in Kimball, concluding with prayers led by Fr. Tom Olson at 4 p.m. and burial at St. Anne's Catholic Cemetery in Kimball.       Belva Christine was born on May 16, 1918 to John and Cora (Blair) Stelten in rural Kimball, Minnesota. She graduated from Kimball High School and St. Cloud Business College. She began work at Kimball State Bank. On October 20, 1942 she married Cyril J. Arnold of Clear Lake, Minnesota. They lived in Kimball until Cyril was called to military service. Belva was fortunate to be with her husband while in various places he was assigned. She worked various jobs at Medford, Oregon Bank, also for Western Union, U.S. National Bank in Corvallis, Oregon and at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, Maryland in the finance department. After the war they returned to Kimball and lived there until 1954. That same year they moved to Janesville, Minnesota and lived there until 1991 when they moved to Elysian, Minnesota to live on Lake Francis.    Belva was a member and officer of Kimball American Legion Auxiliary, PTA, St. Anne's Catholic Church in Kimball, and St. Ann Catholic Church in Janesville, and the Winona Council of Catholic Women.    She enjoyed collecting and refinishing antiques, doing needlepoint, playing cards, and all kinds of music and dancing. She, with her husband, enjoyed 25 years wintering in Texas where they made many dear friends. Recent winters were spent in California with daughter Barbara and her family. Family and friends knew Belva for her excellent baking, especially chocolate chip cookies and lemon pie. She had a delightful sense of humor and ready smile.    She is survived by her three sons, Gary and Charleen Arnold and Dick and Carol Arnold all of Waseca, and David and Mary Beth Arnold of North Mankato, and by her daughter Barbara and Bill Palmer of Granite Bay, California. Belva has eleven grandchildren, Nathan (Amber) Arnold, Nicholas (Shannon) Arnold, Molly Arnold, Megan (Kevin) Wright, Betsy (Kevin) Bahn, John Arnold and fiancée Sarah Motl, Jacob Arnold, Joshua Arnold, Matthew Arnold, Jennifer Palmer and Mark (Meaghan) Palmer. Belva has eight great grandchildren, Alexis, Brody, Lauren, Mackenzie, Carson, Spencer, Mason and Molly.    Belva was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Cyril (2002), her brothers Wilfred, Vern, Ervin, Robert, Lester, Frank and Norbert, and her sisters Nellie Stelten, Leona Hess and Isabel Edwards. Also preceding her in death are many nieces and nephews and cousins.