Obituary. Arnold H. Hexom. Image courtesy of Horton-Plainfield Historical Club.
Memorial (Inner page). Arnold H. Hexom. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.
Memorial (Outer page). Arnold H. Hexom. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.
Arnold H. Hexom, 76, of 1005 12th St. N.W. Waverly, Iowa, died Thursday morning, May 3, 1990, at the Kaseman Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after suffering a massive heart attack on April 25, 1990.
He was born on May 7, 1913, on a farm in Union Prairie Twp., Allamakee County, Iowa,
the son of Carl & Emma Johnson Hexom. He was baptized in the Lutheran Faith on June 1, 1913, and was confirmed in the Glenwood Lutheran Church near Decorah, Iowa. After
graduating from the 8th grade in a rural school near his home, he helped his family farm, and also became an auctioneer. At the age of 13 Arnold bought a black colt which really started him in the horse business, and he has been in it ever since.
On December 27, 1941, he was united in marriage to Lorine L. Ludeking. On January 10, 1942, Arnold entered the U.S. Army during W. W. II, serving in the Asiatic Pacific Theatre of War. He was discharged on November 14, 1945, and returned to Iowa, lived in Waukon for a short while. They moved to Waverly in 1946 and Arnold worked for the T. H. Bany Implement Co.
He later formed a partnership with Ted Bany, Wilbert Oberheu and Ed Engelbrecht and started the Waverly Sales Barn in 1947. He later bought out his partners and owned and
operated the sales barn until 1972 when he sold the business. He then started the Hexom-Sweeney Sales Co., which he was involved in until his death. Lorine died on May 9, 1980, and on December 11, 1980, Arnold was united in marriage to Myrtle Johnson
Westby. The couple have spent the last nine winters living in Scottsdale, Arizona, and
were on their way back to Iowa when Arnold suffered a heart attack near Albuquerque.
He was a member of the Glenwood Lutheran Church, Decorah, was a former member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Waverly, and a former member of St. Paul’s Church Council. Arnold founded the world renowned Waverly Draft Horse Sale in March, 1948, and it has continued successfully to the present time. He is a member and past director of the Percheron Horse Assn. of America, a member of the Belgian Horse Assn. of America, and a member and past president of the Iowa Auctioneering Assn. He is a member of the Clydesdale Horse Assn. of the United States, and was one of six in the United States presented with a lifetime membership. Arnold had been an active participant in the Iowa Fair Assn., and his portrait hangs in the Draft Horse Hall of Fame in the Iowa State Fair Horse Barn in Des Moines. He is a member of B.P.O.E., Son's of Norway, V.F.W., American Legion, and Amvets.
He is survived by his wife, Myrtle, and his three sisters, Esther Hill of Decorah, Mabel, Mrs. Merle Jensen of Bennet, Neb., and Helen, Mrs. Erwin Basler of Northbrook, Ill. He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, two brothers, George and Carlton, and one sister, Florence Folstad.
Obituary. Lorine L. (Ludeking) Hexom. Image courtesy of Horton-Plainfield Historical Club.
See also the IA GenWeb site for the following obituaries:
Arnold H. Hexom. Image courtesy of IA GenWeb Obituaries and also Iowa Gravestone Photo Project.
