Arnie Gerstein – father, husband, poet, clarinetist, and lifelong seeker – passed away on March 20, 2025.  He was 84.  A lover of philosophy, poetry, and music, Arnie was the song of Natalie Tankenoff and Rabbi Joseph Gerstein.  Born in Kilgore, Texas, his grandparents came from Russia to be homesteaders in North Dakota in the early 20th century.  Arnie was devoted to finding the good life – first through Judaism, art, music, literature and philosophy, and later through a lifelong and deep spiritual practice at the Heart Light Center.

He worked for more than 20 years as a communications professor at Western Michigan University, where he authored a book on conflict resolution and translated numerous works from Hebrew to English, including an anthology of Jewish philosophers, Dialogical Philosophy from Kierkegaard to Buber.  He later self-published two volumes of Poetry detailing his love for this strange and beautiful world, its memories and its myriad creatures.  His poems paid homage to seemingly insignificant moments charged with the potency of being  -- "as quietly as a cat walks across tissue paper."

Arnie always carved his own path through the world and bucked the trend when it came to emotional expression.  Although born in 1940 to Eastern European immigrants, he was never afraid to cry when moved, to laugh at the absurd or to dance or sing the many melodies in his heart.  A man of great sensitivity, wit, humor, and kindness, he passed on a love of music, language and wisdom to his four surviving children, Dylan, Daniella, Aaron, and Michael.

He was a devoted friend to many.  He is survived by his wife, Kerin, his three step-children, Joshuan, Kaleb, and Nathael, his eldest brother, Stanley, and his children, in whose hearts he left an indelible mark and an irreplaceable absence.

There are no services scheduled at this time and cremation will take place.

Arrangements and care trusted to Hess Funeral Home and Cremation Services.