Arnell Engstrom Trust Provides $500,000 for Munson

When Michigan House Representative Arnell Engstrom retired from public
service in 1968, he was called “the most loved and respected man in state
government.”

A Traverse City native, Engstrom devoted more than half a century to public service. Now, 35 years after his death, he is again having a significant impact on the community he loved and served.

With the passing of his son, Richard, in 2005, the Engstrom trust has been dispersed, including a $500,000 gift to Munson Medical Center. The gift has been directed to an endowment-type fund to support community needs at Munson.

“This is a wonderful example of how someone can make a tremendous contribution even after they are gone,” said Munson Healthcare Regional Foundation Interim President Bob Wick. “Naming an institution such as Munson as a beneficiary of a trust perpetuates the good work being done in the community. Mr. Engstrom was an extraordinary community servant during his lifetime, but his service didn’t end there because he did some thoughtful planning before his death.”

Engstrom was born in Traverse City on June 6, 1897. He graduated with the class of 1915 and worked for the Oval Wood Dish Company. Following his marriage in 1919 to Mareda Heiges, he joined the Carver-Heiges Insurance Agency. It later became the Engstrom-Hicks Insurance Agency, which he headed for the rest of his life.

A Lifetime of Service

Engstrom was involved in nearly every facet of public life in Traverse City. He headed the Traverse City School Board, and sat on the City Commission and the County Board of Supervisors. He was president of the Traverse City Chamber of Commerce, Secretary of the Traverse City Industrial Fund, and a director of Traverse City State Bank. He supported

Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts, was a member of the Masons, Elks, Kiwanis, and the Congregational Church. He served for 44 years as secretary of the Northwestern Michigan Fair Association.

Arnell and Mareda shared a passion for the fair. “They were a great team,” recalled their niece, Betty VanRiper of Traverse City. “Aunt Mareda loved to judge the cakes, and she worked in the fair office. She was a beautiful lady.”

“We had a large family and we were close,” VanRiper said. “On the 4th of July Uncle Arnell would get everybody together and say, ‘Come on, we’re going to Leland for the parade.’ He loved being in that parade, even if it was only four cars.”

He also loved the Cherry Festival and for years was involved in setting off the fireworks, which resulted in a partial loss of hearing, VanRiper said.

Arnell and Mareda had two sons, Louis and Richard. Both had special needs and lived as adults with their parents on Eighth Street.

“I think because of them, Arnell reached out to do his good for society,” Van Riper said.

On to Lansing

“Some men stand above all others. Some men give more of themselves than they receive. Some men provide inspiration, make the world a better place, renew the faith of cynics, and give others the courage to live their convictions. Such a man is our dear friend Arnell Engstrom.”

— U.S. Rep. Guy VanderJagt, per Western Union Telegram,
October 1968

At age 44, Engstrom ran for the 104th District seat in the House of Representatives. He served 14 consecutive terms, from 1941 to 1968, and became the longest serving member in the legislature, which earned him the title “Dean of the House of Representatives.”

Also known as “Mr. Appropriations,” he served on the powerful Ways and Means Committee for a record 23 years, 10 years as Chairman. He was lauded for having “complete mastery of the complexities of state government finances” and “constantly protected the taxpayers’ dollar from unsound expenditures.” One colleague recounted how the warm twinkle in Engstrom’s eye could take on an “icy glaze” if he detected someone was trying to plead desperate fiscal need for a pet project.

Engstrom championed programs to help mentally and developmentally disabled children. When asked to name the most satisfying achievement of his long career, he said it was gaining approval for the $3 million children’s unit at the Traverse City State Hospital. The Arnell Engstrom School was dedicated in May 1970, three weeks before his death.

Engstrom was also a major force behind the community college movement in Michigan. One of the original incorporators of Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City — the state’s first community college — he also promoted the establishment and expansion of community colleges throughout Michigan.

He was an avid outdoorsman and conservationist, and was the prime mover in founding of the Coho Salmon industry in Michigan. In April 1966, he dumped the first pail of coho fingerlings into the Platte River, marking the beginning of what became a vital fishery. He also enjoyed big game hunting in Africa, Alaska, and Canada, and his home on Eighth Street was filled with evidence of his hunting adventures.

Duty to Family

Celebrating the couple’s 45th wedding anniversary were (l to r) Louis, Arnell, Mareda,
and Richard Engstrom.

During his tenure in the State House, Engstrom drove to Lansing every Monday morning and returned home on Thursday nights.

Engstrom shocked the House during a late night session on his 71st birthday when he announced he would not seek a 15th term.

As he left office, Engstrom was extolled as one of Michigan’s greatest statesmen. Some
of the most lavish praise came from the Democrats he had opposed over the years. They described him as “fair,” “a real gentleman,” and a “generous opponent.”

Lorraine Hamilton, a long-time neighbor, described him as a self-made man. “Everybody liked him. He was down to earth and just friendly to everybody.”

His son, Louis, died in the late 1960s, after a car-pedestrian accident. After Mareda’s death in 1976, their son Richard, at age 53, became involved in the Community Living Center, where he learned an employable skill, got a job, had an apartment, and made many friends.

Richard died in May 2005 at age 81.

To learn more about estate planning, call Interim Foundation President and Planned Giving Specialist Robert Wick at (231) 935-7689.