Arvin B. Forness

Arvin B. Forness, age 98, of Moorhead, MN passed away on Sunday, July 28, 2019, at Bethany Retirement Living, Fargo.

Arvin was a good man who lived a good life.  He was born on July 3^rd, 1921 in Mayville, ND to Carl and Ida (Moen) Forness.  The youngest of nine brothers and sisters, he grew up on the family farm and often spoke of the hard work that was needed to make a living on the farm in the 1920s and 30s.  While he felt “kids these days” didn’t know what hard work really is, he also remembered life growing up as filled with happiness and wouldn’t have had it any other way.

After finishing High School, Arvin moved to Fargo and began work at Halberstadt’s Men’s Clothiers.  He also worked for his brother-in-law at Valley Maid Meat Packing before starting work as a maintenance man at Probtsfield Elementary School in Moorhead.  There he met the love of his life, Opal Malmskog, a widow with five children who was a first-grade teacher at the school.  As the story goes, Arvin heard from friends that Opal would be picking strawberries one weekend and “accidentally” met her there.  Arvin always said he found the “best pick of the patch” that day.  Arvin and Opal were married in June of 1967 and were never apart a day until Opal passed away in 2010.

Arvin loved people.  When he and Opal went to Sons of Norway for lunch or to Church for the ice cream social, it would take 30 minutes to sit down as they would always run into several friends and have a chat.  Arvin could make a trip to Hornbacher’s into a social event.  He was quick to smile and was genuinely interested in the lives of others.  He often would tell people how he appreciated the work they did and was always ready to help his family and friends when they needed it.  He particularly enjoyed visiting with his many nieces and nephews and was always ready to spoil his grandchildren and then happily send them home.  Arvin was a kind man and never had anything but kind words about the people he knew.

Besides visiting with people, the things Arvin loved doing included playing pinochle, watching the Twins, Bison and Lynx games on TV, working around the house and garden, going out to eat, getting a good deal, running errands and taking the casino bus to Mahnomen on Wednesdays to visit and play the red, white and blue lucky sevens slot machines.

Arvin is survived by his daughters, LaVonne (John) Grunditz of Minnetonka, MN and their sons, Joe, Russ, and Tim, and Susan (David) Malmskog-Pierson of Salt Lake City, UT and their daughter, Jesse; his sons, Mark (Betty) Malmskog of Laramie, WY and their daughters, Elizabeth “Beth” and Jenny, Charles “Chuck” (Karen) Malmskog of Isanti, MN and their children, Dan and Kellie, and David (Renee) Malmskog of Moorhead and their daughters, Heather and Kalynne; 11 great-grandchildren; and many loving nieces and nephews.

Arvin was preceded in death by his parents; his wife of 44 years, Opal; and all his siblings.

A visitation will be held on Friday, August 2, 2019 from 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. at Wright Funeral Home, Moorhead. The visitation will continue Saturday, August 3, 2019 from 10:00-11:00 AM followed by the funeral service at 11:00 at First Congregational United Church of Christ, Moorhead. Burial will take place at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Moorhead.