By LANEY COOK, Student Reporter
Glenda Arndt, a Northwestern employee who worked for NWOSU for five years, died from the coronavirus Jan. 5. She was 63.
Arndt had worked as the administrative assistant to Dr. David Pecha, the vice president of administration, since August 2017. Before moving to the full-time position for Pecha, she worked part-time in human resources, starting in 2015.
She kept everyone in line while at work, Pecha said.
“You could tell by the tone of her voice if someone were missing something,” Pecha said. “But then, as soon as you saw her big smile, any fear or anxiety would go away as she worked with them through it.”
Arndt was born in Chanute, Kansas, and moved to Alva to attend school. She attended Northwestern after graduating from Alva High School in 1975. She married Leroy Arndt on May 22, 1976, at the Methodist Church in Alva. Arndt worked at Walmart for more than 40 years in accounting and management before coming to work at the university.
Dr. Janet Cunningham, president of Northwestern, and Arndt both attended Alva High and NWOSU.
“She was a great employee with a hard job having to shuffle around all of the paperwork,” Cunningham said. “But she was very spunky and always figured out how to get everything done.”
Her family wrote in her obituary, published by Marshall’s Funeral Home, that she enjoyed planting and taking care of her flowers in the summer. She also enjoyed going to concerts with friends, shopping and traveling.
Arndt is survived by her children, Lori Caviness and husband, John, of Alva; Erica Miller and husband, Corey, of Enid; Dallas Arndt of Alva; her mother, JoAnn Roberts and husband, Walter, of Edmond; her mother-in-law, Katharina Arndt of Alva; seven grandchildren, Kaden and Kylie of Alva, MaKenzie, Huston, Avery, Nixon, and Channing of Enid. She is also survived by two brothers, one sister and numerous other relatives and friends, according to her obituary.