Verena Arnold, 80, of Rifton
RIFTON » Verena Arnold, wife of Johann Christoph Arnold, passed away at the Woodcrest Bruderhof, Rifton N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018, after a courageous five-year-long battle with cancer. She was 80 years old.
Verena was born on May 16, 1938, in Cirencester, England. Her husband, Johann Christoph Arnold, who had served as elder and pastor of the Bruderhof Church, died previously on April 15, 2017.
Christoph and Verena, married in 1966, were blessed with over 50 years of happy marriage. They had eight children (all married): Emmy Maria and Michael Blough, Heinrich and Wilma Arnold, Margrit and Reuben Zimmerman (Margrit died in 2015 at the age of 45), Verena and Raymond Hofer, Annemarie and Timothy Keiderling, Hanna and Chris Rimes, Chris and Estelle Arnold, and Priscilla and Andrew Zimmerman. They were very proud of their 44 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, including a granddaughter, Stephanie Jean Rimes, who died in 2008 at the age of one month.
Verena grew up in a family of 12 children. She was predeceased by her four older brothers: Klaus, Andreas, Hans-Jorg, and Daniel, and a sister, Maria who died in infancy; and survived by six sisters: Hannabeth, Lydia, Priscilla, Ita, Agathe and Anna-Regula. Her parents, Hans and Margrit Meier, were from Switzerland and joined the Bruderhof in Germany in 1933, just before Hitler’s rise to power. The community struggled under Nazi oppression; first raided several times by the Gestapo and finally forced to flee Germany in 1937. Verena’s father Hans was imprisoned by the Nazis for three months until a miraculous escape reunited him with his family in England, where Verena was born. As war loomed, the Bruderhof found themselves unwelcomed foreigners in England, and immigrated to Paraguay, South America, the only country that would accept the refugees.
Verena was only two years old when her mother boarded a ship with six young children, hoping to meet her husband who had gone ahead to South America. Her parents faced many hardships and tropical diseases, but managed to establish housing, a farm, and a mission hospital all while raising 11 children. Verena spent a very happy childhood in Paraguay. In later years she loved to tell jungle adventure stories about monkeys, snakes, ostriches, and other exotic animals and pests. When her mother’s sister died of appendicitis, their family took eight cousins into their family, making a household of nineteen children. Verena, as oldest daughter, had to act as a second mother.
In 1961, Verena immigrated to America. She fell in love with a handsome young man, Johann Christoph, and they were married in May of 1966 at the Woodcrest community in Rifton. As their family grew, she faithfully supported her husband as he took up a pastoral role in the Bruderhof. She was always the biggest supporter of her husband’s calling and responsibilities. Later, when her children were older, she accompanied him on missions to Europe, Africa, Australia, Central and South America, the Middle East and Asia. Together they worked tirelessly to spread Jesus’ gospel of forgiveness and reconciliation. Despite only having a sixth-grade education, she was the best editor for the eleven books Christoph wrote, finding the smallest mistakes before anyone else.
Her courage, forthrightness, boldness, spark, and humor will never be forgotten. Whenever she sensed sadness or troubles, she would give a cheerful challenge with her trademark greeting, “Attitude!” Never one to take thanks to herself, she would fend off compliments, pointing to heaven with, “All glory to God!”
Visiting hours will be at the Woodcrest Bruderhof in Rifton on Saturday, September 22 between noon and 6 p.m. The funeral will be held at Woodcrest on Monday, Sept. 24, at 11 a.m. All are welcome.