Ken Arneson, age 64, passed away at Preferred Senior Living in Ellsworth, WI on November 12th, 2020.

Kenneth Brian Arneson was born in June of 1956 to Lee and Teena Arneson in Chicago, IL.  He graduated from Craig High School in Janesville, WI, early so that he could join the few, the proud, the Marines and was stationed in California.  He was very proud of being a Marine.  He married Bettie Lyman and they were blessed with their wonderful daughter, Crystal, who was born in July of 1977.

Ken was a Marine, an Air Traffic Controller, an IT professional, and a business owner of StarTech Computing.  He was a talented musician and played at many venues throughout his later years.  He continued to play at the St. James Hotel in Red Wing after his diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia in 2013.  He played every Thursday evening, until coronavirus affected our world.

Ken married his love Julie Winger in February of 2009.  They loved to travel and Ken enjoyed showing her some of his favorite destinations including St. Thomas and Florida.  Ken took great pride in the trip that he and Julie took to Banff on the Harley-Davidson that he loved to ride.  They attended many Green Bay Packer games – cheering on his favorite team.  You could find them at their camper in Cumberland, WI, driving country roads exploring, and stopping at local establishments to make new friends.  Ken loved life and was always up to an adventure.

Ken spent many precious moments making memories with his daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. They enjoyed making music and performing together, bantering over football, joking around and just hanging out. He never missed an opportunity to communicate  his pride and his love for them. Crystal will miss the “dad” talks and advice, the time spent together, and most of all, those wonderful hugs. She was blessed to have a daddy that loved her like Jesus does.  Crystal will forever treasure the opportunity to be by her father’s side as he entered eternity and went to be with Jesus.

Ken adored his daughters, Crystal, Dawn, Krys and Tami, and their families, whether by blood or by marriage, to him it didn’t matter.  He was so very proud of each and every one and treasured his relationships and time spent with them all.  His 10 grandchildren were the apple of his eye and provided Ken with abundant joy and laughter.

He was proceeded in death by his loving mom: Teena, his oldest brother Terry and his brother-in-law, David Mansur.

Ken is survived by his devoted Julie, his loving daughter Crystal (Jason) McCue, Step-Daughters: Dawn (Michael) Benoy, Krys (Rich) Lecheler, Tami Horner along with his 10  grandchildren: Matthew, Lucas, Michael, Madeline and Grace McCue, Briana Flaherty, August Benoy, Brooklynn Lecheler, Sam and Kip Horner.  He is further survived by his dad, Lee and Mary (step-mom), his brothers, Randall  (Patti), Gregg (Pamela), Kevin (Chris), his sister, Cindy Mansur and sister-in-law, Joann Arneson along with his nieces and nephews.

He had a way of connecting with others with his charismatic personality and is survived by so many friends that are also mourning the loss of our beloved Ken. Ken is further survived by Mocha—a fun-loving little dog that brought so much  joy to him.

Ken’s deepest and purest love of his life was his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He wished for all he knew and loved to have a relationship with Jesus and to have the blessed assurance of eternal life. It is our deepest comfort knowing he is fully healed and whole, and now resides with his Father in heaven.

With the pandemic the family wants to keep everyone as safe as they can.  They know how much Ken was loved and cared for.  Please honor him with a quiet moment and reach out to support Julie and Crystal as they mourn the loss of the man they call their “rock”. We hope to gather for a celebration of his life in the future, and his final place of rest will be at Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spooner, WI. Memorials honoring Ken may be directed to the Lewy Body Dementia Association: https://www.lbda.org/donate/ or to Pay-It-Forward: https://payitforwardredwing.org/

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the O’Connell-Benedict Funeral Home of Ellsworth (715) 273-4421.  www.oconnellfuneralservices.com