David Charles Andrew Arnio was born the sixth of eleven children to Hazel and Arnold Arnio on December 24, 1944, in Renton, Washington He peacefully departed his beloved family, community and nation on July 4, 2025.

Visitation will be from 4-7 PM on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Spearfish.  Funeral services will be at 1:00 PM on Thursday, July 10 at the church.  Burial will follow at Black Hills National Cemetery with full military honors. In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established to Our Savior's Lutheran Church and the Grace Balloch Memorial Library in Spearfish.

David's parents were full-blooded Finlanders: His father was born in Finland and his mother was born to Finnish immigrants who settled in Buffalo, SD. David, known by many as DC or by family as Uncle Dave, was extremely proud of his Finnish heritage. It was one of the strong bonds among the 11 children as they grew up.

David and his 10 siblings remained very close all of their lives, always ready to help each other in hard times. David, as the middle sibling, often called himself the "pivot point" of the family, with five on either side of his birthday.

When he was two, the family moved to Grizzly Gulch in Pluma, SD. He attended Pluma Grade School and graduated from Lead High School in 1963. He worked through high school at his dad's sawmill in Pluma, alongside his brother Arnie, and he hauled logs with his brothers Bob and Dan.

After attending Black Hills State University for one year, he was drafted into the U.S. Army in January 1966. He was sent into combat in Vietnam with the 9th Infantry Division -- the first U.S. troops in the Mekong Delta region. At 21, he was one of the oldest soldiers in his platoon, and he taught "the youngsters" -- as he called his fellow soldiers -- how to maintain the trucks and machine gun tracts in Vietnam.

He was extremely patriotic and proud to serve in the Army for his country. In late 1967 he was discharged honorably from active duty as a "buck" sergeant.

He went to work for Boeing Aircraft in Rapid City for several years, and in 1970 returned to Black Hills State University to finish his accounting degree. But in 1971 his father passed away, and he quit college to take over his father's logging contracts and to help raise his three younger sisters, who were still at home.

Thus was born David C. Arnio Trucking.

In 1975 he met Kay Cooper Boone on a blind date, and later that year they married, settling in Pluma. Of this marriage three children were born: Jessica in 1977, Nick in 1979 and Matt in 1983. David was always extremely proud of his children. He was an advocate for his kids in sports, in work, in college and in life.

He hauled logs for Homestake Sawmill until the mill burned in 1980. He moved his family and trucks to Casper, WY, to haul oil field pipe for Karst Enterprises. But the oil business was short-lived and soon declined. He moved his family and trucks to a ten-acre site outside of Spearfish. There he and Kay built a home and a shop where they lived and worked for 38 years.

For the next three decades David worked for Pope and Talbot and then Neiman Sawmills. His business grew to processing and hauling timber, with 23 employees. In 1987 he purchased five new Peterbilt trucks, conformed for logging with self-loaders and trailers.

He was so very proud of his employees and his equipment. In 1993 he took crews to Saratoga, WY, to work for Louisiana Pacific Lumber Co. Then he sold the log processing part of the company.

In 1997 he sold the five trucks and bought three new logging trucks. With these he hauled logs and, in the summer, hauled road oil for his brother Arnie Arnio Trucking. In 2006 he downsized to one truck to haul logs and oil.

In 2017 David retired and sold the business, house and land in Spearfish. They moved to Whitewood where he and Kay enjoyed retirement and visits with their six grandchildren when possible. He was a lifelong member of the Lutheran church and supported his children in their baptism, confirmation and marriage through the church. He also was a life member of Deadwood VFW 5969.

David spent the last few years of his life on dialysis. He would like to thank the VA in Fort Meade and the Dialysis Center and staff in Spearfish for his excellent care.

David was preceded in death by his parents; two nephews, Russell Zuhr and Gene Ghere; three sisters, Delores (Warner) Ghere, Deb Christensen, and Dolly (Leo) Rizzi; and one brother, Arnie (Brigett) Arnio.

He is survived by his wife, Kay; daughter Jessica Chance of Rapid City and her son, Austin (Kenzie); Nick of Driftwood, TX, his wife Ashley and their children, Gavin, Maddox and Noa; and Matt of Gillette, WY, his wife Erin and their children, Willa and Scarlett.

He is also survived by sisters Phyllis (Johnny) Johnson, Kay (Bob) Zuhr, Christy (Bill) Burleson, and Cindy (Boyce) Gillies; brothers Bob (Janice) Arnio and Dan (Linda) Arnio; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Arrangements are under the care of Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels and Isburg Crematory of Spearfish. Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com