Arnold R. Kakert

Funeral services for Arnold R. Kakert, a resident and former mayor of the City of Bettendorf will be held at 10:30 A.M. Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at St. James Lutheran Church in Bettendorf where he was a charter member. Burial will be in Davenport Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. Tuesday at the McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Home, Bettendorf. Memorials may be made to St. James Lutheran Church or to the Bettendorf Lions Club. Mr. Kakert, 96, died on Saturday at his home following an extended illness.
He was born July 12, 1910 in Davenport, Iowa, the son of Edward & Emma (Kobert) Kakert. On August 19, 1933, he was united in marriage to Ellamae C. Mohr in Davenport. She preceded him in death on September 13, 1995.
Arnold co-founded, owned & operated the Holst-Kakert Upholstery Cleaning Company in Moline, Illinois in 1936 for 40 years. The company grew to become one of the largest carpet & upholstery businesses in the Mid-West.
Arnold served as an alderman and as mayor of Bettendorf from 1954 to 1962, serving four terms during a time where Bettendorf’s population surged from 6,000 to 12,000. Those eight years saw many things accomplished thanks to Mayor Kakert and the city council. By the time he finished his last term, 18th Street had been cut through linking it from State Street to Middle Road. Several new civic buildings such as City Hall, the library and the post office were in place.
But the greatest legacy Arnold and other city officials rendered to Bettendorf was doubling of its size. With the growth came a need for additional land for future expansion and there was only one way to grow – to the north. A spirited “war” for annexation of this land developed between Bettendorf and Davenport, with Bettendorf ultimately receiving approval in 1956 from the Scott County District Court.
Even after retirement in 1962, Arnold would continue to act as a force in Bettendorf’s growth, acting as chairman of the Bettendorf Plan & Zone Commission. After leaving the mayor’s office, he served as County Chairman for eight years. After that, he decided to “stop hustling” and get back to his own business in the Holst-Kakert Cleaning Company.
In 1963, he and several other business & community leaders founded the Excel Investment Company in Bettendorf and he served on it’s board of directors for many years.
In addition to the church, he was a charter member of the LeClaire Lions Club, a member & past-president of the Bettendorf Lions Club, a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Bettendorf Chamber of Commerce.
Those left to honor his memory include his daughters, Julie (William E.) Martin Jr. of LeClaire and Barbara (Arthur) Duncan of Blue Grass, Iowa; his grandchildren, Julia Kim, Bill IV, Brian, Mark, Steven, Karen, Jeremy & Tiffany; his great-grandchildren, Ryan, Elizabeth, Natalie, Lauren, Jennifer, Emily, Bradley, Nicholas, Michelle, Kendra, Janelle, Garrett, Taylor, Dylan, Gracie Mae & Carter; his son-in-law, Patrick Quinn of Bonita Springs, Florida; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and wonderful friends, including Ray & Pat Larson of Bettendorf.
In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by his daughters, Ardella Quinn and Carol Lee Kakert; four sisters and seven brothers.
The family would like to extend their sincere thanks to his special “family” of caregivers who helped in so many ways during their father’s illness and death.