Leslie Arne

Minot

Leslie Mae (Ballinger) Arne, 78, went to be with her Lord on April 20, 2023, after a short but heroic fight with bile duct cancer. She was surrounded by her loving family at her home in Minot, ND.

Leslie Mae Ballinger was born to Lester “Bud” and Eva (Joyce) Ballinger on July 22, 1944, in Fargo, ND. She was raised on the family farm in Lamoure County near Verona. She spent her time caring after her five younger brothers, going to school, graduating from Verona High School and helping her parents on the farm. At 15, she met the love of her life at a school dance. They married June 13, 1962. From this union, they had four children: Tim (Collette Kraft) Arne, Terra (Allan) Knipp, Tracey (Kevin Smith) Arne and Holly (Kerry) Ebel.

Allen and Leslie were in the USAF for 26 years with Allen being enlisted, and Leslie, with the harder job of being an Air Force wife. While in the military, they were stationed in West Germany. From there, they traveled Europe with their children, seeking out and visiting their relatives in Germany and Norway. Leslie’s passion, besides her family, was genealogy. She co-authored a book that traced her heritage back to William Ballenger, who fought in the Revolutionary War. She also discovered her family was related to George Eastman, who created the Kodak camera.

Before her retirement, she worked for Minot Public Schools. After retirement, she loved going to their lake cabin at Strawberry Lake. She liked to work on their lodge on the old family homestead in Ransom County. In the winters, they would fly south to Mesa, AZ, to keep warm. If home is where the heart is, Leslie had several homes. Her favorite was where her family was in Minot, ND.

She was involved with square dancing, NCO wives club as president and treasurer, Sunday school teacher, Boy Scouts treasurer. Most recently and proudly, she established herself and her daughters as charter members of The Daughters of the American Revolution – DAR Plum Valley of Minot.

She is survived by: loving husband of 60 years Allen Arne, son Tim (Collette Kraft) Arne, Burlington, daughters Terra (Allan) Knipp, Surrey, and Holly (Kerry) Ebel both Minot; grandchildren Mike (Mindy) Arne, Kelly (Charles) Campbell, Misty (Sheila) Arne, Alexander Knipp, Andrew (April Finneseth) Knipp, Dylan Ebel, Christopher Ebel, Cody Newgard, Zachary (Dawn) Knipp, Nicholas (Samantha) Knipp, Kiah (Justin) Knipp, Casey (Bethany) Newgard, Joseph (Laynie) Knipp, Noah (Tiffany) Knipp, Timothy (Ashleigh) Copeland, Jonah (Kelsie) Newgard, Hannah (Antonio) Arne, Taylor (Bryton) Ebel, Jacob (Alexandra) Newgard, Dodge (Kayleen) Arne, and Jamez Ebel; great-grandchildren, Deacon, Ethan, Amelia, Sola, Gabriel, Oliver, Harmony, Paisley, Zhane, Liddy, Hunter, Brinkley, Skylin, Aven, Kane, Shane, Ryland, Breydon, Rylie, Blaire, Kali, Lilah, Everly, Cameron, Bentley, Alaina, Braylee, Isaac & Ian, and Felix along with two new greats on the way; brothers Rodney (Sue) Ballinger, Rocky (Brenda) Ballinger, Rick (Anne) Ballinger, in-laws: Joan Larson, Curtis (Shirley) Arne, and several nieces and nephews.

Leslie was preceded in death by her parents, daughter Tracey Arne, grandson Isaac Knipp, brother Todd Ballinger, nephew Matthew Ballinger, father and mother-in-law Clarence and Alma Arne and brother-in-law Robert Arne.

Celebration of Life for Leslie Arne: 2:00 p.m. Friday, April 28, 2023, at Bread Of Life Lutheran Church, Minot. To view a livestream of the service or share memories and condolences access www.thomasfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens, Minot.

Visitation: Thursday, April 27, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.

Memorials are preferred to bile duct cancer research at www.cholangiocarcinoma.org.

Published by The Minot Daily News, April 25, 2023.