Jeraldine "Jerri" Kay Arndt, age 84, passed away on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at Dougherty House in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. A Memorial Mass will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, October 16, 2025 at Christ the King Catholic Church (1501 W. 26th St., Sioux Falls, SD).

Jerri was born on July 8, 1941, in Norfolk, NE, to Elmer and Ethel Kirstine. She graduated from Neligh High School in 1959. Following high school, Jerri worked at a radio station in Norfolk, then moved to Lincoln, NE where she worked for KFOR Radio. While in Lincoln, she met her husband, James "Jim" Arndt, of Pierce, NE, who was attending college at the University of Nebraska.

Jim and Jerri were married on August 17, 1963 in Norfolk, NE. In 1964, Jim and Jerri moved to Denver, CO, where Jim worked for The Employers of Wausau, Insurance Co., and Jerri worked as a secretary at the University of Denver for a professor of International Studies. Jim and Jerri's first son, Ty, was born in Denver in 1966. Jim was then transferred to San Francisco, CA in 1967, which is where their second son, Mark, was born in 1968. Jim was transferred to Colorado Springs, CO in 1970, where the Arndt family lived until 1974.    In 1974 the Arndt family moved to Grand Island, NE where Jim started his own independent insurance agency.  Grand Island became home. Jerri worked as a secretary at the agency for the first few years before becoming a full-time homemaker. Along with their business partners, Jim and Jerri grew their insurance agency (eventually named "Insur Inc.") into what was eventually the largest independent insurance agency between Omaha and Denver.

The family were members of Resurrection Catholic Parish in Grand Island. Jim and Jerri were prominent community service members in Grand Island, and made many great, and lifelong friends. After the boys graduated from high school (G.I. Northwest), Jim and Jerri moved from their home in Capital Heights to a townhome just off the 8th fairway at the Riverside Country Club. Like their many friends, Jim and Jerri were avid Husker fans. They spent many weekends in Lincoln tailgating and cheering on their Huskers with family and friends.

After living in Grand Island from 1974-2023, Jim and Jerri moved to Sioux Falls, SD and became residents at the senior living facilities at Lake Loraine, and later, Dow Rummel Village.  Jim and Jerri were, and always will be, together.

Jerri was a very family oriented. She was a fantastic wife, mother and grandmother, as well as a generous host.  Their home in Grand Island was commonly the neighborhood gathering place.  On any given night Jerri was quick to put out as many extra place settings as was needed for the many friends of her boys who just happened to hang around the house through dinner.  All were welcomed.  Whether it was keeping score at little league, organizing a cub scout meeting, or leading a caravan to attend their sons' sporting events, without exception, Jerri was there for her boys.

When the boys were married, their wives, Stacie (Ty) and Amy (Mark), became the daughters that Jerri had always wanted. Grandchildren followed, as did constant inquiries about what everyone was up to, often followed by advice (typically unsolicited). There was more than enough room in Jerri's heart for all of them.  Jerri and Jim spent much of their senior years watching their grandchildren from the bleachers - on the fields in Lincoln, the ice rinks of South Dakota, or horse arenas- all over the place.

Grateful for her life are her husband, Jim, of Dow Rummel in Sioux Falls; her sons, Ty (Stacie), Lincoln, NE and Mark (Amy) Sioux Falls; her four grandchildren, Grady, Iowa State Univ., and Mason, University of Neb., and Jordan (Maggie), Sioux Falls, and Mallory, Chicago, IL. Jerri was preceded in death by her parents, Elmer and Ethel; and her two sisters, LuJean Reed and Jeannine Reed.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made to
the Sioux Falls Catholic School System - Teacher's Endowment
or to Stuhr Museum in Grand Island, NE.
Memorials sent by mail may be addressed to:
The Family of Jeraldine Arndt c/o Miller Funeral Home
507 S. Main Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57104