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Arnold (AB, B, Brink, or Arnie) Brinkerhoff passed away on March 23, 2023 in Powell, Wyoming at the age of 91.
Arnold was born on Feb. 7, 1932 in the Lovell Hospital. He was number five of 10 children born to Warren Brinkerhoff and Vera Allred, and was greeted by 12 older half siblings. The family was raised on “the old family farm” southwest of Lovell where everyone was expected to work to provide for the family. Arnold grew up hoeing beets, trapping for pelts, gathering magpie eggs, scavenging iron, brass and copper at the dump, raising and selling orphaned lambs, hauling hay, spreading manure on the fields, irrigating, loading beets at the end of the growing season and much more. All the work was done by horses and by hand.
After graduating from Lovell High School in 1950, Arnold began working for Decker Construction in Worland. In the summer of 1951 he met Marian Zeller on a spontaneous blind date where they went roller skating. After a few months, Arnold loaded his car to move to Williston, North Dakota for work and asked Marian if she wanted to go with him. They were married Jan. 4, 1952 in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple. They added eight children to their family, two girls followed by six boys. He and Marian also served as foster parents to eighteen children for a total of 11 1/2 years.
Arnold’s employers included True Oil Company and MDU which took the family to Worland, Moorcroft and finally, Powell. To earn extra income, even after retiring, he did drywall, teaching his sons and grandsons the same. The family built their own Capp home on Lane 9 in Powell.
Arnold was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he worked mainly in the Sunday School and in the scouting program. He worked as a Billings LDS Temple ordinance worker for three years.
Arnold loved spending time in the Bighorn Mountains, especially on horseback with sons and grandsons. Basketball was his game and he faithfully followed the Powell Panthers, even keeping his own stats on the girls’ games this year. Hunting was a favorite, fishing not so much.
His garden was award winning, especially the corn, and he enjoyed giving produce to others.
Arnold is survived by his daughter Bonnie Zabel (Robert) of Gillette, sons Bart (Jan) and Gary (Margaret) of Powell, son Mark (Kathy) of Evanston, daughter-in-law Christina of Evanston, son Brian (Shauna) of Tampa, Florida, brother Floyd of Lovell, sisters Glenda Asay (Gary) of Lovell, Karen Simonsen (Chris) of Bountiful, Utah, brothers-in-law Max Zeller (Cindy) of Casper and Larry Coppock of Caldwell, Idaho, 29 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren and three on the way.
Arnold was preceded in death by his wife Marian in 2015, daughter Cathy Jo, sons Bruce and Ward (Pep), grandson Aaron Brinkerhoff, twin granddaughters Courtney and Alissa Brinkerhoff, eight sisters and 10 brothers.
Services will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ave E building in Powell beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 1. A viewing will be held the hour prior beginning at 8 a.m. and also the evening before at Thompson Funeral Home from 6-7:30 p.m.
