Arthur Otto Kelm, 73, a longtime resident of Luling, St. Charles Parish, LA. passed away peacefully on February 9th 2022 at Oschner Rehabilitation Hospital after a prolonged fight with cancer and related illness.
He was born at approximately 4:00AM on October 14th 1948 at Mercy Hospital in the town of Benton Harbor, Barion County Michigan. Arthur was married twice, first to a Ms. Sandra L. Icenogle (1978-1988) and then on the 9th of March 1990 to a Ms. Artis A. (Moore) Kelm and raised and loved four step children as his own.
Arthur was raised in Lake Michigan Beach after tragedy struck him in his infancy with the heinous murder of his mother Dorothy at the age of 2 in St. Joseph, MI., an unsolved national mystery to this day. His father remarried a Ms. Elizabeth (Betty) Kelm in 1952 and Arthur was raised by them in Michigan. Arthur was a boy scout in primary school and went to Benton Harbor High school. In high school, Art learned about his lifelong passion of electronics and repairing them. Art received his graduate degree from DeVry University after taking courses at Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Western Michigan University. During his last years in collage, Arthur founded AOK Custom Electronics in Kalamazoo MI. fixing fellow students and faculties’ electronics. After collage, Arthur closed AOK and went to work in the nuclear industry as an IC&E technician. He worked at Matco as a contractor and then DC Cook Nuclear plant as a full time technician. In 1986, Art moved with his family to Louisiana and worked for Entergy’s Waterford III nuclear plant until his retirement in 1995. In 1991, he started Getgo Business Solutions in Boutte, LA. with his wife Artis. They built and sold custom computers to the public and local business. After Hurricane Katrina, Art restarted the business with his step-son Dean as Getgo Gator Systems Inc. A computer, security and electronics company. In 2017, Art retired permanently due to the first bout of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
As many of you know, Arthur had two real passionate hobbies in life, technical writing and cars! Art would joke that he had owned, driven and “fixed” most of the cars models available in the 60’s from the big three as $200.00 specials while in college. Arthur liked to write and publish technical documentation twice winning NRC recognition and company stock for technical improvements to nuclear monitoring equipment. He would also analyze handwriting and the psychology of the written word while following and interacting with over 600 friends and family on Facebook. A medium made for Art combing his passions. Art was also into photography, farming and bird watching, A Republican for most of his adult life and a vocal supporter of the Republican party, Art loved to combine and improve all three passions at the same time.
Arthur is preceded in death by his parents: Father Otto E. Kelm and mothers Dorothy R. (Ferus) Kelm and Elizabeth (Betty) A. (Freudenburg) Kelm and many extended family.
He is survived by his younger siblings Rebecca West, Phillip Kelm, Timothy Kelm, both wives Sandra and Artis Kelm. Loving step-children, Dan Malkin, Kimberly Malkin (Glowacki), Vicki Swanson and Dean Swanson. Grandchildren Jason and Joseph Malkin and many many cousins!
A memorial will be held online for those who wish to leave comments about how this remarkable man impacted their lives.
In lieu of Flowers, gifts cards etc… the family requests donations to the Arthur Kelm’s relief fund on https://gofund.me/2b8aaa84.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hcalexanderfuneralhome.com for the Kelm family.
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