It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Arno Baron of Sylvan Lake, Alberta.
Arno was born in 1939 in Landesburg, Germany, the youngest of four sons of Herta and Paul Baron. While WW2 had already begun when he was born, Arno described an idyllic early childhood on the family farm, protected by his family from the ravages of war. Eventually the family moved westward to avoid the fighting, living for a time in a camp for displaced persons. In 1954, the family immigrated to Canada, settling in Northern BC. As a young man, Arno enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. While stationed at Rockcliffe Base in Ottawa, he met Carol McDonald behind the mess hall while both of them, unbeknownst to each other, were feeding a family of stray kittens. It was love at first sight, and the pair married in 1962. The couple's son Paul was born in Ottawa. With his father and older brother Klaus now living in the Lower Mainland and running a Volkswagen business, Arno and his family moved back to BC to join them. Their daughter, Kristina, was born. Their beautiful home in Langley was a haven to their friends and to the many dogs and cats they raised over the years.
Arno became part of the Whalley Legion Junior Band as marching director, leading the band on many trips to parades and competitions all over BC, Washington, the UK, and Germany. The family enjoyed their travels to California, Hawaii, and Eastern Canada. Arno became involved in the Langley Rod and Gun club, representing the club at Provincial and National competitions in pistol and air gun, and later as a coach for junior biathletes at the BC and Canada Winter Games.
After a life of hard work building his family and business, Arno and Carol looked forward to life slowing down a little, but tragedy struck when Carol was diagnosed with brain cancer. Arno heroically took care of her for two years while the disease took hold; he lost the love of his life in 1994.
After Carol's death Arno bought his first motorcycle and met his second wife, Carolyn, in Abbotsford. They married in 1995 and he found happiness with Paul and Kristina being added to with Carolyn's daughters, Christine, Jackie and Joanne. Arno and Carolyn loved to motorcycle and made many trips across Canada and the US. In 2004 they moved to Sylvan Lake. Arno loved the community and really connected with the Veteran's Association and the Sylvan Lake Legion. He also began coaching again, becoming the premier shooting coach in Central Alberta. His athletes won numerous medals at the Summer Games, Canada Games, Pan Am Games, and Commonwealth Games.
Between coaching, riding his motorcycle, having coffee at Tim Horton's with the gang, and attending Veteran's functions, retirement kept him busy. Sadly, in 2016, Carolyn passed away and he moved into a new phase of life. He decided to try cruising, thoroughly enjoying cruises to Germany and Central America. Arno could mix with anyone and made people feel at ease when they talked with him. Naturally, his friendship group grew, which included the special time he spent with Marcia and later Marlene.
His family would like to thank the special people of Sylvan Lake and Red Deer who knew Arno. He spoke highly of you. Arno did not want a service to be held. He asked that we would do the following: "Raise a coffee for him, shoot a target for him, ride a motorcycle for him." Ride in peace, Arno.
(Arno supported the Sylvan Lake Community Partners Food Bank. If you so wish, please make a donation in his memory.)
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