Arnold Paulson

Arnold Paulson, age 84, Woodbury, MN. died peacefully with family members by his side on Wednesday night, March 6, 2013 in a Woodbury, MN hospital. Visitation will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2013 from 4-6PM at the Furness Funeral home at Clark. Visitation will continue on Monday morning, March 11, 2013 after 9:30 AM in the St. Paul Lutheran Church at Clark with funeral services being held at 11:00 AM. The Reverend Gary Anderson will officiate. Dorothy Fuller will be the organist with congregational singing. The casketbearers will be (Arnold's eight grandchildren)Lucas Gonstead, Lindsay Danielson, Christa Wittenberg,Sara Gonstead, Michael Danielson, Kelli Wittenberg, Matthew Paulson, & Joshua Paulson. Burial will be following the services in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Clark. Arnold Paulson was born on January 12th 1929 on the "Sjolie Place" southeast of Wallace, South Dakota. He was the seventh and final child of Nils and Clara Paulsen. Arnold graduated from Wallace High School in 1946. After graduation he joined the army on a two year enlistment to Korea. After returning from duty he farmed for one year with his father before heading off to Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting and a minor in Social Studies. He met Betty Anderson of Clark South Dakota over Christmas break in 1951. They were engaged that next fall and married on December 6, 1952 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Clark South Dakota. After they were married, Arnold and Betty moved to Watertown, South Dakota where Arnold worked for Swift and Company. It was here in 1954 that Cindy was born. Her birth brought great joy. In 1955, the second joyous arrival, Debbie, was born. In 1959 Arnold and Betty were blessed with their third daughter Tami. In 1967 they were blessed with their only son Douglas. Arnold was full of the pride and joy that each new child brought to his life. He always cherished his memories of his time during the Watertown years with his young family and many friends. In addition to his full time job with Swift, Arnold started to support the credit union movement through a second job as manager of the Swift Employees Credit Union, which ultimately lead to his final career as the President/CEO for the North Dakota Credit Union League. When the Swift plant in Watertown shut down, Arnold took a transfer to a similar plant in Kansas City. This was a tearful decision to make (to uproot the kids and leave family and friends) but one they felt would be best for the family. Within a year the plant closed and he took a transfer to work in the St. Louis office of Swift and Company. When this plant closed, Arnold finally made the decision to move on from Swift and pursued a fulltime career with the credit union movement. His first job was at CUNA Mutual in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It was here that the family planted long standing roots of home and grew up as a family. It was in 1973 when Arnold took the position of President/CEO of the North Dakota Credit Union League. This required a move to Bismarck, North Dakota. Cindy and eventually Debbie, were old enough to stay in Eau Claire, while Arnold, Betty and the younger kids moved. In this position, Arnold created a vision for the credit unions in North Dakota to become member-owned businesses they were intended to be. The credit unions grew and strengthened under Arnold's leadership. Arnold was proud of the support his family gave to him so that he could pursue his passion through his career. It was a sad day when he retired in 1994 and moved one final time to Minneapolis/Woodbury, MN. He enjoyed his retirement years, his grandchildren who kept him young and his loving wife with all his might until his final days. Arnold was thankful for the love, caring and faith of his family and Betty's family. They both brought this to their family and it is now being passed on to the next generation. Arnold lived a life of prioritizing his loved ones. To quote Arnold from his memoirs, We could never have imagined the answers to the question of would we have a blest and happy life. "Betty and I have been blest beyond our imaginations. Having four wonderful children, as well as spouses and grandchildren has been a greater blessing than we could have imagined. We thank God for a family, as well as children, relatives and friends that have been such a great experience and so rewarding we can only thank God for blessing us beyond anything we could have asked for." Grateful for having shared in his life is his Wife, Betty Anderson Paulson, Woodbury, MN, children, Cynthia Gerhmann (Dick) Eau Clarie, WI, Debra Gonstead (Dan) Menomonie, WI, Tamra Wittenberg (Mark) Sturtevant, WI, Douglas Paulson (LaRae) Stillwater, MN, a sister, Nettie Johnson (Norris) Anaheim, CA, 8 grandchildren, Lindsay Danielson, Michael Danielson, Luke Gonstead, Sara Gonstead, Christa Lindh (Justin), Kelli Wittenberg (fiance Joshua Mishleau), Matthew Paulson, Joshua Paulson, a great-granddaughter, Abby Boos and a sister-in-law, Grace Paulson of Watertown. Arnold was preceded in death by his parents, Nils & Clara Paulsen, and siblings, Alma (Dwight) Small, Palmer (Gladys), Norman C. Paulson, Leonard A. Paulson and Melvin (Cecilia) Grotbeck. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to the Arnold C. Paulson Scholarship Fund, Credit Union Association of the Dakotas, 2005 N. Kavaney Drive, P.O. Box 7250, Bismarck, N.D. 58507-7250. Furness Funeral Home of Clark is serving the family where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com