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Today's Featured Biography
Arden Haeffner
Occupations: Custodian - College; Hydraulic/Res. Hyd. Engineer; Two Masters' Degrees; Minister/Truck Driver; Real Estate Sales/Broker; Chaplain
Favorite, special, significant accomplishments: Became born-again Christian, college, married 47+ years to high school sweetheart with 6 believing, healthy children & 5 spouses with 9 grands; 3 college degrees - Engineering, Forestry & Theology; opportunities to serve the Lord in two churches, and Chaplain at VA Medical Center. Blessed to tour and work an archeological dig in Israel; privileged to live in wonderful Wyoming at base of Big Horn Mtns. - great hunting, hiking, fishing & garden spot.
Interests, recreations, passions: Getting to know my Lord better, Bible study, fellowship, sharing; enjoying travel; children & grands living in four states; gardening & home care; huting elk & deer.
STORY:
Born in Nebraska (still a Husker fan) on a dairy farm about a year after WWII began and after 6th grade, moved to Arvada, CO where I first met Jim Starbuck and David Lawrence (memorable evening, riding through streets of Arvada with horse and wagon). My family purchased another dairy near Lyden, CO. Had to get up around 4:00 a.m. to milk around 80 cows, and often falling asleep in class at Arvada High. Met there my bride, Marilyn Sanford, now with me nearly 48 years. We have six children, three sons and three daughters, all married except youngest son. We are now the grandparents of nine. After high school, crammed four years of study into six years at CSU in Agricultural Engineering, where I trusted Jesus for eternal life, and our first son, Brad, was born. My first job out of college was with the US Geological Survey in Santa Fe, NM for three years. We then returned to Ft. Collins to work as Res. Hydr. Engineer for the US Forest Service. Obtained my Master’s in 1971 in Forestry. I then transferred to Laramie, WY before terminating and matriculating at Dallas Theological Seminary .in Dallas, TX. Upon graduation in 1977, I helped start the Community Church in Powell, WY. While there, I began teaching at WY Bible Institute on the eastern side of the Big Horn Mountain, where we moved to nearby Dayton, WY in 1982. Here, I obtained my real estate license, and after The Bible College moved out of state, I was asked to Pastor Dayton Community Church. In 1987, I obtained a part-time Chaplain position at nearby Sheridan, VA Medical Center where I have since had the opportunity to minister to our military heroes. Five years ago, I opened my own real estate office, A & M Realty, and because of God’s blessings, helped put five of our six children through college. We have had numerous blessings over the years; let me share a couple. First, our children have began to repay us in varied ways: 1) Our oldest son, Brad, is an auto mechanic, so he keeps my vehicles in good repair. 2) Our 2nd son, Nate, is a Flight Attendant with his wife Christa (our personal travel agent) with Delta, and we now fly free stand-by. 3) Our oldest daughter, Sallee, (a seamstress) whose husband is a carpenter, helped build us a garage, decks and remodeled our house. 4) Our youngest son, Tim, is a bachelor, an Electrical Engineer, who takes us out to eat a lot and goes hunting with Dad. 5) Our 2nd daughter, Michele, an RN, helps keep us healthy. 6) Our youngest daughter, Ruth Ann and husband, who is in Seminary, is following in Dad’s footsteps and currently giving us more grandchildren; unfortunately, none live in WY anymore. In 2003, we had three weddings, our last two daughters and 2nd son (talk about an expensive year). Only one was married at home in Dayton, WY, the others were married on Treasure Island near Tampa, FL, and the last in Rose Gardens of Portland, OR. A real highlight of our travels was three weeks in Israel in 2001 before 911. We accompanied some college students from Rocky. Mountain. College, Billings, MT on an archeological dig of what was thought to be the Biblical town of Bethsaida near the eastern shore of The Sea of Galilee. The Bible mentions this to be where Peter and Phillip lived, and Jesus walked numerous times. We stayed in a Kibbutz and ate with the commune (lots of green olives and extracts…ugh!). We found lots of pottery shards, and Marilyn found a toga pin. The last week we stayed in a Catholic Convent in Old Town Jerusalem and toured the city and countryside; swam (sat in) in the Dead Sea reading a newspaper, climbed Masada where the Jews tried to hold out against the Romans around 70 A.D. The most notable site, to us, was the Garden Tomb; a place on the edge of old town Jerusalem where Protestants believe Jesus was buried just below a hill whose face looked like a skull.
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