Arnold was born Tuesday, April 8, 1930 to Jacob & Lydia Kirsch into a world beginning to reel with the Great Depression and the impending Dust Bowl era. He grew up on a farm north of Mott ND, the eighth child in a family with three brothers and eight sisters for siblings.

Arnold completed eight grades at the local one-room schoolhouse. As a child he discovered the joys of reading, which became a life-long pleasure for Arnold. His schooling had one particularly pungent interruption when a skunk took up residence underneath the school house. We were never quite sure what prompted the aromatic release of its spray. (One suspects young scholars, perhaps?) The resulting closure of the school for several days was a memory Arnold recounted with a hearty chuckle and a big smile.

Arnold grew up and came of age during World War II. Though he did not serve, his older brother did, and as a young man Arnold shouldered a larger burden on the farm in his absence. After the war he continued to work on the family's farms and always fondly remembered the challenges and joys of farming with horses, taking milk to town with sled teams when trains couldn't get through the huge snowdrifts, and keeping the farm running through blizzards and droughts.

Arnold loved to talk about the various tractors he, his family and all the neighbors had throughout his life. When playing a vintage tractor game on his ipad in later years, Arnold knew every single tractor model name, and often had a running commentary about the merits of the various makes and models.  "John Deere, Model D. My dad had one of those, it had a closed flywheel."

Arnold met Gladys Achtenberg from New Leipzig on a blind date and they were married on November 12, 1961. They settled on their farm six miles east of Mott, and Arnold lived there for the next 47 years. In addition to growing small grains, they operated a dairy farm, and always had chickens, sometimes ducks or pigs, and one year, even a few sheep. A farm dog usually accompanied Arnold around the farm, and a succession of grey cats ruled the barns and enjoyed fresh milk every day.

Their three daughters, Janet, Nancy and Jody, grew up on this peaceful idyllic farm. Their childhood memories are filled with romps through fields and pastures with wildflowers, a creek with a beaver pond, hills for sledding, and rides on the tractor. Arnold and Gladys built a new house on the farm in 1977 and their home was always a joyful welcoming place. Many people looked forward to going to the Kirsch farm, for there awaited grand adventures for the kids and a warm welcome, excellent home-cooked meals and gracious hospitality for all.

Arnold weathered the booms and busts of the farming economy during his decades as a farmer.  He understood the importance of sustaining the land and preferred simple, natural approaches to his work. He kept his equipment in excellent condition and his farmyard tidy.  His workshop, though not quite as tidy to the casual observer, was always organized and he knew where every tool was. Well, almost every tool--his pocket knife seemed to go missing on a regular basis. Arnold was a life-long learner, always reading a steady stream of farm journals and reports and learning more about his vocation as a steward of the land. Arnold and Gladys farmed until 1999.

Like many farmers, Arnold was a man of deep faith and a dedicated member of Zoar Congregational Church. Arnold served in many roles there including deacon, trustee, and Sunday School teacher. He lived out his faith every day in his quiet humble way in his relationships with his family, friends and neighbors. He was always willing to help and serve others and share what he had with anyone in need. Over the years, we've heard the word "kind" so many times as people talk about Arnold. His actions always spoke louder than his few words.

Upon retirement, Arnold was looking forward to catching up on his reading, but spent a few more summers in the tractor seat with a tree-planting crew. Gladys' unexpected death in 2002 caught us all off guard, but Arnold's faith and family sustained him. His daughter Nancy came from Uganda and spent six months with him as he adjusted to life on his own after 41 years of marriage.

Arnold decided it was time to sell the farm in 2008 because he wanted to participate in the farm sale (and his daughters thought that 77 was too old to be climbing up on two storey barn roofs by himself!) Jody spent the summer helping him prepare and the farm was sold in September and he moved into town.

Arnold lived in his apartment "downtown" for several years and then became the first occupant of Timbercreek Townhome #3 in 2012. Arnold loved his years in Mott. He enjoyed his neighbors and church family, trips to the library for his next good book and warm greetings from every librarian. I suspect he was their favorite regular and probably single-handedly skewed the "books checked out" annual statistic with his voracious reading. Arnold was also a regular for meals at the Senior Center and he thrived in a rich, deep network of lifelong friends. After 80 years of serving and caring for all those around him, it was beautiful to see how the community loved and cared for him in return, with his favorite chair always waiting for him at the senior center, or books being delivered when he couldn't get out to the library.

On one occasion, he meant to call his wonderful landlord to change a lightbulb he couldn't quite reach himself. (A wise neighbor declined to lend her stepladder to him, as his first self-reliant instinct was to just climb up and change it himself! Thanks for that save, Meridian Sprecher.) Arnold misdialed and got someone else. His hearing loss made phone conversation difficult so he stated his request, thinking he was talking to the landlord. I'm sure the person who received the call perhaps tried to correct him, but it serves as a testament to the spirit of our community that the person he accidentally dialled promptly came over and changed his lightbulb for him.

In 2013, Arnold rejoiced in and celebrated Nancy's adoption of his granddaughter Biru in Uganda. He loved being a grandpa and his smile was always just a little bit wider on any picture that had Biru in it. He was overjoyed to finally meet her in 2016 and many happy hours were spent together while Nancy and Biru were in America that year.

Arnold decided to move to Fargo to be closer to Janet and Jody in 2017. His years there sharing Janet's comfortable home were joyful and he found contentment in small things. If he had a nice meal, a good book and a comfortable chair, all was well in his world. He always had a stack of books at his side. In the last year of his life, we checked out over 300 books for him to read. Nancy and Biru moved to Fargo in 2018 for college, so his final years were surrounded by family coming and going all around him.

Arnold moved to Eventide in Fargo in November 2019. The new year found him caught up in another disruptive moment in history as the pandemic emerged.  His community went into lockdown in March, so daily family visits now happened on a ViewClix screen. His 90th birthday brought a very needed moment of joy to his care team in the midst of the pandemic. He celebrated with his amazing nursing team while his family waved and sang to him from the lawn beneath his 2nd story window. He was still reading books and enjoying virtual visits from family, and he fiercely enjoyed opening and reading the mountain of birthday cards friends and family sent to honor him.

In early May Arnold's condition suddenly declined quite rapidly. One family member was allowed to enter the facility and Nancy was with him in his final days. He died peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of Sunday, May 10, 2020.

Surviving Arnold are his daughters Janet, Nancy and Jody Kirsch and granddaughter Birungi Hellen Kirsch, all of Fargo ND; sister Leona Stern, New Leipzig ND, sister-in-law Alberta Kirsch, Dickinson ND; brothers Elmer Kirsch, Bismarck ND and  Norman (Judy) Kirsch, Wyandotte MI.

Arnold is now reunited with his beloved wife Gladys (Achtenberg); his parents Jacob and Lydia Kirsch; his brother Herman Kirsch; sisters and brothers-in-law Erna (Milbert) Zimmerle, Martha (Art) Heupel, Alvina (Henry) Bertsch, Lydia (Arnold) Heupel, Sarah (Bill) Tompkins, Olinda Kirsch, Otto Stern, and Hilda (Jake) Haberstroh; and sister-in-law Agnes Kirsch.

A visitation will be held at Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Mott on Saturday, May 16 from 9 AM-7 PM. Due to current restrictions, there will be a private graveside service and a future public memorial service will be planned. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be sent to 1740 50th St S, Fargo ND 58103.

Arnold did not die of COVID. There were cases in his facility, but Eventide did an exceptional job of implementing infection control protocols to protect their patients. Arnold was tested six times and he did not have COVID. Due to the current high number of cases in Fargo, and the low number of cases in Hettinger County, please understand that our private graveside service and delayed memorial service is to protect friends and family from the risk we may pose to you. We hope you will understand and respect our desire to keep you all safe.  Thank you.