Melvin William Arts

Melvin Arts passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Wednesday the 3rd of June at AMC hospital after a short illness.  He was born on Aug 12, 1925, son of Harriet (Kempen) and Martin Arts of Wrightstown.

He was born and raised on his family’s farm in Wrightstown.  After completing high school he decided to continue farming.  He met Magdeline at the Nightingale and they soon married on May 29, 1947.

Shortly after that they bought Magdeline’s family homestead farm in Vandenbroek and started farming and raising a family. He and Magdeline were very good at both, with 4 kids and 100+ acres. 

He was very successful at farming, modernizing and making constant improvements to efficiency of the milking, feeding, and cleaning functions.  He was able to design these different aspects to minimize the normal back breaking work of farming, using machines to do the work where ever possible.   At one time it had some of the most advanced technology in the area and was milking nearly 100 head of cattle.

He designed a beautiful modern home with a unique style and practical features to accommodate the whole family.

He loved spending time with his family teaching the kids respect, responsibility, and why we should not smoke. He loved his family and was very proud of us all.

Later in life Magdeline and he would enjoy spending time with friends and family and going on casino trips. He continued to design and modify things like lawn mowers, tractors, and whatever else that he thought he could improve to his liking.

When it came time to help his wife, when her health was failing, he was there to help her in whatever ways were necessary.  He was there for her right up until the day she passed.

He was able to live in the same home he built until 2 short weeks before his death.

Melvin is survived by his children: Jim (Rene) Arts, Kaukauna; Richard (Kim) Arts, Kaukauna; Diana (Dean) Lamers, Combined Locks; Gene (Nancy, deceased) (special friend, Beth) Arts, Colorado; 10 grand &  9 great grandchildren: Julie (Ben) Jung (daughter, Haley); Carrie (Nate) Owen (kids, Collin, Claire, Carter); Corey Arts (fiancé, Rachel); Charley Arts (deceased); Tony Arts; Casey Arts (fiancé, Ashley, daughter, Luvyanna); Leah Arts; Tina (Jeff) Tarczon (kids, Kennedy & bun-in-oven); Jamie Lamers (husband, Corey Carlson); Robby Lamers; Ben (Andrea) Arts (kids, Mia, Avery): sisters-in-law: Marion Nelessen (Robert, deceased), Kaukauna; Lillian (Leo) Gerrits, Kaukauna; Dorothy (Mark) Kerkoff; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. 

Melvin was preceded in death by; his parents and brother Donald Arts; sisters-in-law: Cecilia (Peter VanZeeland, Len Van De Hey); Agnes (Clarence Schreiber); Ethel (Hilary) Feldkamp.

Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. Monday, June 8, 2015, at St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church, 323 S. Pine Street, with Msgr. James Vanden Hogen. Visitation will be at the Verkuilen-Van Deurzen Family Funeral Home, 101 Canal Street, Little Chute, on Sunday, June 7, 2015, from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and again on Monday at the funeral home from 10:00 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. For online condolences, please visit www.verkuilenfh.com.

The Arts family would like to thank the staff at Appleton Medical Center’s ICU for their care and compassion.

 Service Information