Arnold Theodore "Arnie" Bot

Mass of Christian Burial for Arnold "Arnie" Bot, 91, of Marshall, will be at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at St. Eloi Catholic Church in Ghent. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment with military honors will follow at St. Eloi Catholic Cemetery in Ghent.
Arnold Theodore Bot was born at home in Grandview Township on March 13, 1934, the son of Charles and Elizabeth (Brewers) Bot. For many years Arnie celebrated his birthday on March 12 because, as he said, "Ma was there and that's the date she said it was." However, the court records have it recorded as March 13.
Arnie was a lifelong member of St. Eloi Catholic Church receiving the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, Communion, and Confirmation there. He attended the St. Agnes Catholic School in Ghent through the 8th grade. He went to Grand Rapids, Michigan for three years of high school. His after-school job was setting pins at a bowling alley for a penny a pin. On a good night he made $10. His senior year was in Lynd where he graduated in 1951.
Arnie loved sports and his favorite was baseball. He played on the Ghent town team for 10 years and then managed it for three more years. You would find Arnie behind the plate as catcher. This was how he spent summer Sunday afternoons playing in Ghent and the surrounding communities. Thursday evenings were spent playing rolle bolle in Ghent. He also bolled at the International Tournament and Belgian American Days.
After high school, Arnie stayed home and began farming with his parents. In 1957 Arnie was drafted into the US Army. He had basic training at Ft. Lewis, Washington, and then in Ft. Carson, Colorado. He was stationed in Ulm, Germany. While stationed in Germany he was able to see some of Europe. He went to Belgium, Holland, and England on his first leave and then went to Austria, Italy, and the Isle of Capri on his second leave. An interesting fact about his Rome visit was that there was no Pope there at that time (October of 1958) because Pope Pius had just died. Although Arnie didn't like the army much, he did appreciate sampling some good German beer!
After coming home from the service in 1958 Arnie began farming with his brothers, Ray and Fran. They ran a registered Brown Swiss dairy. At the peak they milked about 75 cows twice a day. When the government buyout program came along, the brothers decided they were too old to keep milking, so the herd was sold. Most of the Bot cows went to Canada and South America.
Arnie was known as a generous uncle to his 30 living nephews and nieces. He enjoyed fishing, playing cards, and golfing. He was always ready to visit and play some cribbage with anyone who stopped over. And, he was well known for his sense of humor and much good-natured teasing.
Arnie also had a strong faith. Towards the end of his life, he was dealing with kidney failure and congestive heart failure. When asked if he was prepared to die, he responded by saying he prayed daily that "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, commend my soul into your sacred arms."
Arnie died peacefully at the Prairie Home Hospice McLaughlin House on Saturday, November 8. He is survived by his brother, Fran Bot, and sister-in-law, Alice Bot and 30 nephews and nieces and many great nephews and nieces who will miss visiting and joking with Arnie. Preceding Arnie in death were his parents, brothers – Rich, Barney, Ray, Norbert (infant), and Vincent, and sisters – Florence and Emerence, along with brothers-in-law Bob and Mike and sisters-in-law Phyllis, Judy, and Joan, nephew Jordan Bot and niece Pam (Bot) Haukom.
Memorials preferred to Prairie Home Hospice.
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