Arden Ellis Dockter was born on August 8, 1939 on a farm in Goodrich, North Dakota. His parents were Reinhold and Viola Dockter and he was the eldest of six children. He attended grade school and high school in Goodrich, and then enrolled in Concordia College in Moorehead, Minnesota, where he earned a degree in mathematics and science education. Arden was teaching when we were Introduced to each other by his sister at a hockey game. Arden and I dated for three years and married on June 10, 1965, after I graduated from college, with a degree in occupational therapy. We lived in Fisher, Minnesota, where Arden continued teaching while he worked on an advanced degree at the University of North Dakota. After Arden completed his master's degree in science teaching, he accepted a teaching position in Redondo Beach, California. Our daughter, Sheri, who had been born on August 10, 1967, was ten days old when we moved halfway across the country. Arden was not happy teaching in a junior high school, so he enrolled in UCLA, where he earned a master's degree in medical physics. After finishing his training he worked at South Bay Hospital in Redondo Beach, calibrating radiation doses for treatment of cancer patients. Meanwhile, our son, Ken, was born on November 6, 1971. In 1982, it was time for another cross-country move. Arden accepted a position at Genessee Hospital in Rochester, New York. Later he worked at Geissinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania and New York Hematology Oncology in Albany, New York. After a stroke in 2015, Arden retired and we moved to Ormond Beach to be closer to family. Arden enjoyed skiing, kayaking, and wind surfing. He loved spending time at their summer cottage near Lake Ontario Here in Ormond Beach, he enjoyed going out to eat with the Romeo Club, going to parties and dances at Bear Creek, and doing activities and painting rocks with his caregivers. Arden always had a smile and he was loved by everyone. As his cardiologist, Dr. Jamidar, put it, "he was a class act." Arden is survived by his wife, Marilyn, four sisters, Maxine, in Longmont, CO, Daphne, in Fargo, ND, Vidella, in Colorado Springs, CO, and Vivian, in Blu`ton, SC, one brother, Lonnie, in Lewiston, ID, his children, Sheri, in Ormond Beach, and Ken, in Salt Lake City UT, six grandchildren, Felisha, Scott, Haley, William, Miranda, and Gavin, and six great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, September 21, 2024 at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ormond Beach, 56 N Halifax Dr, Ormond Beach, FL 32176.