Arne Fahlen

Arne Erik Fahlen, age 84 of Rockford, went home to be with his Lord and Savior at his home surrounded by his family on October 2, 2014. Arne is survived by his wife of 61 years, Marilyn; their children Richard Arne & Pam Fahlen, Dr. Steven Arne & Angie Fahlen; James Arne & Rosemary Fahlen, and Erik Arne & Lynne Fahlen; grandchildren (and great grandchildren) Betsy Fahlen (Jansen), Matt & Katie Casto (Ava, Gianna, Alivia, Maddox, Liam), Nick Fahlen, Travis & Gabe Fahlen (Jaxon and Kaija-Mae), Krysti Edson (Jayda-Lyn, Justus and Jai), Michael & Tonya Rogers, Taylor Fahlen, Kaycee Fahlen, Dr. Alex and Jaclyn Wagner, Arne & Barbie Fahlen, James Fahlen II, Stefan Fahlen, Taylor and Jenna Borst, Tucker Fahlen, Linnea Fahlen and Erik Fahlen Jr; his sister-in-law Lillian Zobel; as well as many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Ingeborg Anderson and Vivan Bellman.

Arne was born July 15, 1930 in Natra-Vaesternorrland, Sweden to Algot Jonas and Margreta Sofia Fahlen. He grew up in his father's Konditori (bakery café business) where Algot developed his lifelong passion for baking. As a youth Arne was very athletic and he excelled as a junior nordic ski jumper and soccer player. He attended a Christian school and upon graduation he was fluent in four languages and joined the Swedish military where he became a meteorologist and learned to fly sail planes. Arne followed his passion for baking and was accepted into the world renowned Swiss pastry school Culinary Arts Academy in Basel, Switzerland where he graduated in 1952. In 1948 he met a young Swedish girl (Marilyn) from Chicago who was back in Sweden visiting her relatives. Arne quickly fell in love with Marilyn and in 1952 at the age of 22 he followed her to Chicago and pursued the American dream and began his bakery career in Chicago. One year later Arne & Marilyn were married in 1953. Arne continued additional education specializing in the chemistry of baking at the American Institute of Baking and in 1957 he accepted a regional sales position with Swift & Company where he consulted and sold specialized baking fats & oils to bakeries throughout the mid-west. By the 1960's Arne had established himself as a highly sought bakery consultant and he accepted the position of VP of Research & Development for Awrey's Bakery in Detroit, the largest retail bakery in the nation. In his travels through Michigan Arne met his future business partner, Arnold Sonneveldt Jr. from Buttercup Bakery in Grand Rapids, MI. Arne had a goal of owning his own business by the age of 40 and in 1969 he and Arnold struck a deal and Arne joined Buttercup Bakery as a partner and he managed the business. In 1972, Arne bought the Old Mill in Rockford. The success from that location led to Arnie's Bakery Restaurants at Breton Village in 1978, Leonard St Market in 1978 and Centerpointe Mall in 1987. The bakery business also continued its expansion in the retail, private label and wholesale baked goods segments across the mid-west. In 2010 Arnie's acquired Chicago's famous Heinemann Bakery brand and the final project he worked on with his sons was the rebuilding of the new Arnie's Centerpointe location that opened in August of this year. Arne thoroughly enjoyed having his four sons and grandchildren work with him in the business. Sons Rich, Jim, and Erik continue leading the family business and Arne fully supported his son Steve's passion to become a medical doctor.

If you knew Arne, you knew his priorities in life were first and foremost his faith in Jesus Christ, his dedication to his family and participating at the Covenant Church. He would quickly say his biggest joys and successes in life were in spending generous time with his family and in passing on a strong Christian heritage to his four sons. He was full of life and he loved entertaining countless friends at the family cottage, sailing, skiing and in being grandpa "Far far" (father's father in Swedish) to his 16 grand and 11 great grand children. Arne loved attending and cheering on all of his grand children's sporting and school events and hosting countless get-togethers for family and friends. In 2014 Arne celebrated 61 years of marriage with his wife Marilyn, the love of his life. Arne lived a full life and will be greatly missed by his wife, family and his many, many, friends.

A service to remember and celebrate Arne's life will be held on Thursday, October 9 at 11 AM at First Evangelical Covenant Church, 1933 Tremont NW Grand Rapids, MI followed by a reception immediately afterward in the church’s Fellowship Hall. Friends are invited to visit with his family on Wednesday from 1-3 and 6-8 PM at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home, 2120 Lake Michigan Drive NW. Grand Rapids, MI. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to the Mission Fund at First Evangelical Covenant Church.

To read more about his life, to share a memory or sign his guestbook, visit www.lifestorynet.com