Ralph Arnold

Ralph Arnold, a charter member of The Greatest Generation, passed away at home in Helena, Montana one day shy of his 101st birthday. Born on May 25, 1920, to Arthur and Isabel (Hodge) Arnold in rural Clark County, Wisconsin, Ralph was the third of seven children.

Ralph grew up in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Although he was captain of his high school basketball team, a scrimmage with UW men’s basketball coach Bud Foster convinced him that he should stick to academics when he enrolled at the University in the fall of 1938. To pay for school, Ralph worked three part time jobs. By his senior year, one of those jobs was ROTC. In June 1942, Ralph was called up for active duty with the Army and sent to Officer Candidate School.

By April 1943, Ralph was stationed in North Africa with the 36th Division. In September 1943, he landed in Salerno, Italy, as part of the first wave of Allied forces to arrive on the European mainland. He fought at the Rapido River and the breakout from Anzio that led to the liberation of Rome. One of Ralph’s most vivid memories of WWII was how the citizens of Rome joyfully greeted them, shouting Americanos! Americanos!

In August 1944, Ralph’s unit landed on the French Rivera and began the fight north. In December 1944, Ralph’s battalion repelled a German effort to retake Selestat, France. For its outstanding performance in defending Selestat, Ralph’s battalion received the Presidential Unit Citation. After fighting in Southern Germany, Ralph ended the war in Itter Castle, Austria. For Ralph, V-E Day was not one of celebration; it was a day of relief. He was going to be able to go home. He finished the war with a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and, later, an appointment from the French government of a Chevalier (Knight) of the French Order of the Legion of Honor for his role in liberating France.

Ralph returned to Wisconsin in December 1945 and used his GI benefits to attend the UW Law School, graduating in August 1948. He returned to Menomonee Falls and opened his own practice. While in Madison, he met Helen Schmelzkopf on a blind date. They married on August 12, 1950 and were inseparable until Helen passed away in March 2020.

Shortly after their marriage, the Army reactivated Ralph for the Korean War. Luckily, this time he was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood rather than overseas. His daughter Barbara was born during this time. When Ralph was discharged in 1952, he joined Farmers Mutual Insurance in Madison as a claims adjuster and stayed with the company, now known as American Family, until he retired as a Vice President in 1985.

In 1954, Ralph and Helen moved to Waunakee. Shortly thereafter, their son James was born. They stayed in Waunakee, raising their children and supporting their community. When Ralph retired, he and Helen moved back to Madison where they resided until 2009 when they moved to Helena, Montana to be close to their son James and his family.

Ralph kept up with a changing world. His life spanned feeding apples to fire horses on his way to school in 1920s Milwaukee, to using his computer until his last days, and a recent epiphany on cloud computing’s role in mobile devices.

Ralph never lost his playfulness. He took time to teach small children to whistle; built and instructed on the use of stilts; and sledded with his grandkids well past medical advice. His plaid Christmas pants are a favorite of his grandchildren.

Ralph survived the Great Depression and some of the worst of World War II, yet seldom spoke about either except to highlight the grace and kindness he witnessed. Never one to lecture, he taught through example and loving, nonjudgmental support. He believed in and was a role model for integrity, loyalty, humility and hard work. He always did his duty to his family, his country, his employer and his friends. He believed in finding joy where you might and to never take oneself too seriously. Having seen war, Ralph believed that it should always be the last resort.

Ralph often said that he was lucky: for his wife and the life they built together; for his parents and siblings who supported one another in hard times with love and humor; for surviving a world war; and for the extraordinary good health and longevity that kept him golfing into his late 90’s.

Ralph is survived by his daughter Barbara Arnold and her husband Paul Turley (Madison); his son James and his wife Erin Keefe (Helena) and their children, Chad, Piper and Forrest Arnold; and Paul’s children David and Leanne Turley. Ralph will be buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, alongside Helen. A celebration of life will take place later.

The family thanks the staff at Touchmark for their wonderful care of Ralph, especially at the end, as well as St. Peter’s Hospice Care. In lieu of flowers, Ralph, who survived COVID in early January, would want you to get vaccinated to protect your family, friends and your community as well as yourself.

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