Obituary of Clayton (Darrell) Arneson

A memorial service for Clayton (Darrell) Arneson, age 86, of Spirit Lake, will be held on Saturday, November 6, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake. A time of fellowship will immediately follow the service at the church. Burial will take place in the Evergreen Cemetery in George at 1:30 p.m. There will be a reception immediately following the burial at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, 300 East Iowa Ave in George.

To watch the livestream of the service, please click on the followng link: http://www.fpcspiritlake.org/stream.

In lieu of gifts or flowers, the family kindly requests contributions be made in his name to First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake.

Darrell passed on October 17, 2021 at the MercyOne Hospice Care in Johnston, Iowa.

Clayton Darrell Arneson was born June 11, 1935 to Hjalmer and Randi Marie “Mary”(Larson) Arneson in Madison, SD.  As a child, he lived in Howard, SD and Salem, SD before moving to George, IA where he attended school and graduated from high school.  He attended University of South Dakota and served in the United States Marine Corp for two years.

On August 23, 1957, he married the love of his life, Shirlee Vogelaar Arneson, in George, IA and they were married 51 years before her passing in 2008.  

Darrell worked in the Insurance Business in George, Iowa and in 1985 he became a fulltime agent with Northwestern Mutual Life moving his office to Sibley, IA.  He eventually moved his business to Spirit Lake, Iowa until his retirement.  Darrell and Shirlee enjoyed lake life on Big Spirit Lake for many years. Darrell moved to Woodlands Creek in Clive, IA in 2019 where he loved the staff and made many great friends.  He happily checked off two bucket list items last year, which were sky diving and a hot air balloon ride.

Darrell was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.  He spent countless hours supporting his children and grandchildren in various sporting, music and dance events.  He was an avid supporter of Spirit Lake High School athletics even after his grandchildren graduated.  Darrell was committed to serving his communities in many ways as a Boy Scout leader, volunteer EMS, and as a board member for various organizations including Dickinson County Kinship, where he was actively involved in its creation and served as the board president.  In addition, Darrell was a dedicated member of the Presbyterian churches in George and Spirit Lake, where he served as an elder.  He was also a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge.   We will miss his corny dad jokes, hearing the endearing nicknames he had for each of us, his infectious laugh, his warm smile and his kind heart.

Darrell is survived by his children Steven (Jill), Scott, Shelli (Teri), Shaun (Stephanie) and Susan; his grandchildren Laura (Christine), Emily (Greg), Lindsey (Kendall), Zach and Kelsey; great-grandsons Luca and Miles; his twin sister Darlene (Stan) as well as many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to give special thanks to dad’s Wesleylife Hospice nurse, Lindsey Dietz, who he adored, and to MercyOne Hospice for providing exceptional care.