ARNE LEE EISENTRAUT

ARNE LEE EISENTRAUT

     Arne Lee Eisentraut, 86, of Apache Junction, AZ, passed away at Banner Baywood Hospital in Mesa, AZ, after a short illness Oct. 15, 2024.

     Arne was born to Carl and Doris on March 6, 1938, in the town of Grant, where he went to school until the third grade and then moved to the family farm on Highway 10 and went to school and graduated at Neillsville High School in 1956. He served in the Army National Guard. He married Bonnie Jean Krejci in 1957 and moved to Rockford, IL. They were married 67 years and had two daughters, Debbie (Mark) Tlusty Sr. and Dixie (Bob) Oldham-Skroch. In Illinois, he was a engineer draftsman and loved doing carpentry work.

     He returned to Neillsville in 1973, where he joined his father Carl in the Eisentraut Christmas Tree Farms and built the trailer park along Highway 10. He also built over 30 cabins and treehouses. He employed many boys from the area to work in the Christmas tree fields, shearing trees along beside him and his white German shepherd named Fuzz, which after a day of spraying trees would be green.

     Together, Arne and Bonnie purchased land in Apache Junction, AZ, where they built a Spanish-style home where they lived in the winter months and in Wisconsin in the summer months. Arne loved to paint and was a great artist, also loved taking his jeep all over the desert, where he took many family and friends. He hiked many trails in the mountains. Arne would pick up rocks in the desert and paint them in his studio of wild animals and family pets. Arne enjoyed reading Louis L’Amour and James Patterson books. They sold their home in Wisconsin and stayed permanently in Arizona, only to come to Wisconsin for visits, and is where he lived until his passing

     Arne is survived by his wife, Bonnie, who was his greatest love, they traveled to every state in the U.S., Canada and Alaska; two daughters, Debbie and Dixie, both of Neillsville, WI; grandsons Jason and Joe (Laura) Cernik and Ryan (Sam) Oldham; 11 great-grandchildren; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Pat and Ken Christie; sisters-in-law Mary Eisentraut and RayAnn Krejca; a half-sister, Nicole Eisentraut; and 16 nieces and nephews.

     He is preceded in death by his parents, Carl Eisentraut and Doris Braatz; his two brothers, James Eisentraut and David Eisentraut; grandson John Oldham; son-in-law Dennis Oldham and two brothers-in-law, Lee Krejci and Devere Krejci; and his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Eunice and Rex Krejci.

     Arne had many friends in Arizona and Wisconsin and he will be missed by all. A graveside service will be held at a later date.