Arno W. Maxam, Jr. (Max)

Newark, SD

1934, 2748, Hazelrodt, Tom Berry, Tigerville, F-15,
1935, 2748, Tigerville (Keystone), F-15,
1937, 2748, Pactola, F-4, Ass't Leader

Arno W "Max" Maxam (Jr.), Rapid City died Saturday, February 5th at Bella Vista Nursing Home. He was 90 years old. Services are being held at First Presbyterian Church at 2:00 PM on Friday, February 11th, with burial to follow at Mountain View Cemetery. Visitation will be at Kirk Funeral Home on Thursday from 5:00pm until 7:00pm.

He was born August 7th, 1914 on a homestead near Brampton, North Dakota to Arno W (Sr.) and Coral B.(Barnum)Maxam. He attended a country school in North Dakota through the fifth grade. In 1926 the family moved into the town of Newark, SD, where he finished high school and lived until he was twenty.

In July of 1934 he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and spent several years in various camps with Company 2748 in the Black Hills.

Max entered the US Army in 1941 and was a veteran of World War II. He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater with the 802nd Aviation Engineer Battalion. His postings include Annette Island, Ketchikan, Alaska; Umnak Island, and the Aleutian Islands. He later served in the Okinawa and Ryuku Island Campaigns. He returned to the United States on October 8th, 1945 and was honorably discharged on October 12th, 1945.

After the war he made his home in Rapid City with his wife, Shirley A. Stinehart of Huron, SD. They were married from 1946 until her death in September of 1972. He then married Alberta M. Stover of Rapid City. Both had lost their homes in Dark Canyon in the 1972 Flood. Max and Alberta remained in Dark Canyon together in their new home until 2003 when they moved to Holiday Hills. He worked for 30 years as an Electric Crane Operator at the South Dakota Cement Plant, retiring in 1979.

Max is survived by his wife, Alberta; two children, Alice A Hnarakis (Emanuel) Clarksville, TN, and Lovella J Maxam, Rapid City; three step-children, Delbert (Shirley) Stover, Rapid City; Carla J Moross, Black Hawk; and Carole R Bunde, Ames, Iowa; two sisters, Nora Torngren, Waterford, Wisconsin and Elzora Hanson, St Joseph, Michigan; 11 Grandchildren and 9 Great-Grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, a brother; Gerald Maxam, Yuma, AZ and a half-brother; Earl J Umphrey, Cedar Rapids, IA.

Max was an avid rock hound, gardener, a lover of the outdoors and of animals. Special mention should be made of his beloved dogs, Kusha and Koby. He was an excellent craftsman with wood, stone, and cement, he had an insatiable appetite for reading and writer of beautiful poetry. He was a lifetime member of VFW Post 1273 and a member of the Darton Geological Society of Rapid City.

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