James Allan Arends

James Arends, 78, of Kerkhoven, died Thursday, June 9, 2022, at CentraCare Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar.

His memorial service will be 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 14, at Salem Covenant Church near Pennock.  Interment will be in the church cemetery.  Visitation will be 5:00-7:00 p.m. Monday, June 13, at the church and will continue one hour prior to the service on Tuesday.  Arrangements are with Harvey Anderson Funeral Home, www.hafh.org.

James Allan Arends was born September 16, 1943, in Willmar, Minnesota, to Arnold and Anna (Klinghagen) Arends.  He grew up and attended school in the New London area.  On December 14, 1963, he married Carol Johnson and they lived and farmed in the Pennock/Kerkhoven area.  In addition to dairy farming, Jim also worked as a seed corn dealer and rural mail carrier for several years.

Jim was a member of Salem Covenant Church and served on the Trustee Board.  He enjoyed gardening, hunting, fishing, and watching sports, especially wrestling, boxing, softball, and Twins baseball.  He also enjoyed feeding birds, deer and pheasants and watching them through the window.  He loved to go for drives to check out the fields, lakes, and implement dealerships.  Jim also loved searching for and collecting pedal tractors, antique tractors, fishing lures, and baseball cards.  He always was willing to help others and donated the majority of his garden’s produce to the Willmar Area Food Shelf and Hope for Our City. 

Jim is survived by his wife: Carol; three children: Bonnie (Craig) Wentzel of DeGraff, Jeff Arends of Pennock, and Scott (Christy) Arends of Harvey, ND; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.  Also surviving are his siblings: Ruthann (Gerry) Butler of New London, Gretchen (Jerome) Carlson of Kerkhoven, David (Ruth) Arends of Sedan, and Arnie (Pam) Arends of New London; several nieces and nephews; and other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother: Roger Arends; a sister: Betty Tjaden; a granddaughter: Krista Arends; and twin great-grandsons: Eli James and Gabriel Joseph.

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