ARTHUR R. RYDEN, 99, longtime Cherokee, Iowa resident, passed away peacefully, Sunday afternoon, November 2, 2014 surrounded by his four children at the Rowley Masonic Nursing Home in Perry, Iowa.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, November 7th, at 10:30 a.m. at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Cherokee. Pastor Jean Morse will officiate. Burial will be in the Oak Hill Cemetery at Cherokee with military rites by L.A. Wescott Post #2253 of the V.F.W. There will be a family prayer service at 10:15 a.m. at the church on Friday. Visitation will be on Thursday from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. with the family present from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa. Online condolences can be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com The family requests that memorials be made to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

Art was born on June 29, 1915 in Alta, Iowa, the son of Gust & Jenny (Bengtsson) Ryden. He graduated from Alta High School in 1933. After graduation, he worked at his father's clothing and dry cleaning business. He was employed by the Bank of Alta as a teller in the mid 1930's and then in 1939 as a teller for the Bank of America in Gilroy, California.

Art was drafted into the U.S. Army infantry in September of 1941, just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He trained at Camp Ord, California. In 1942 he was reassigned to the Mojave Desert to train with General Patton's 5th Army Division in preparation for the invasion of North Africa. Promoted to the rank of Sergeant, he was diverted in July of 1943 to deploy with the Army's 7th infantry Division to recapture the Aleutian Island of Attu. In May of 1945, Staff Sergeant Ryden received an officer's commission and was promoted to Second Lieutenant, graduating from the Supply Quartermaster School at Camp Lee, Virginia. Lieutenant Ryden performed duties as a training officer until his discharge from active duty in April of 1946.

From 1946 until 1950, Art returned to Alta, Iowa, and again worked for his father. On June 6, 1948, he was married to Lucille Benson whom he had met while on military leave in Cherokee, Iowa in 1942. They were married at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Cherokee. Their son Gary was born April of 1949.

Following the onset of the Korean War, Art was recalled to active duty in October of 1950. Second Lieutenant Ryden was assigned duties in the Army Quartermaster Corps until April of 1953 commanding supply operations at depots in Columbus, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois. He was promoted to First Lieutenant in August of 1951.

Upon his discharge in 1953, Art established and managed Ryden Cleaners in Cherokee. Their first daughter, Jolene was born in March 1953, followed by Linda in April 1954 and JoAnn in April 1955. During this time Art served on the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Council for one term. He was a member of the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce and sponsored two bowling teams. He retired from the dry cleaning business in 1982.

Art enjoyed fishing, golfing and playing pool, but his real passion was bowling, which he began at age eight when his father operated a bowling alley in Alta. In the Summer Iowa Games in the over 75 age category, he won two gold medals, a silver medal, and two bronze medals. He achieved his second gold medal at the age of 92.

Art cherished 60 wonderful years of marriage with his beloved wife Lucille until her passing on January 21, 2009. Family was very important to Art and he dearly loved the time he spent with his children and grandchildren.

Art was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Lucille, a sister Elsie Clemens, a sister Ethelyn Barton, a brother Herb, a brother Arnold in the U.S. Army who was killed in action in November of 1944, in France, and a grandson Paul Ryden.

Art is survived by his son Gary (Janet) Ryden of Spokane, Washington; three daughters: Jolene (Roger) Niemeyer of Perry, Iowa; Linda (John) Erickson of Crystal Lake, Illinois; JoAnn (Russ) Wilson of Ames, Iowa; 9 grandchildren: Kristin Petersburg, Andrea Niemeyer, Jennifer Teich, Ken Erickson, Karen Provance, Carolyn Cook, Laura Wilson, Rachel Marsden and Anne Stukenburg; a great granddaughter Audrey Provance, a great grandson Connor Cook; also several nieces and nephews.