Local man celebrates life with living wake

Local cheesemaker Joe Arnold is holding a living wake after surviving a bought with cancer. 

For many people, overcoming a bout with life-threatening cancer might call for a period of solemn reflection. For Joe Arnold, however, it provoked a more lively response. 

“I’m not dead yet, and I’m happy,” Arnold said.

To commemorate the one-year anniversary of undergoing a successful bone marrow transplant, Arnold is holding a “living wake” at the Glacier Brewing Company on Oct. 9, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Arnold, who runs Flathead Lake Cheese with his wife Wendi Arnold, said he envisions the wake as an opportunity to remember both departed and not so departed loved ones, in a cheerful atmosphere complete with craft beer and a pig roast.

“I don’t want to belittle other people who are sick,” Arnold said. “But I don’t know if I’ll be around for one year or 20 years. I want to have some fun.” 

In February 2015, Arnold was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer that affects plasma cells inside bone marrow. While his treatment has been successful so far, Arnold said the episode provided him with a broader perspective. 

“I don’t think the disease is the problem,” he said. “It’s our attitude towards death.”

Inspired by the classic comedian Jack Benny, who produced multiple “farewell” specials in his later years, Arnold came up with the idea of a living wake as a more fulfilling way to pay tribute to a person. He said he remembers attending a friend’s funeral as a young man. Discouraged by the glum ceremony, Arnold and some companions sneaked off to a nearby bar to memorialize their friend their own way.

“It was such a better way to remember him,” he said. “Why turn it into misery?”

Arnold said he has friends from across the country planning to visit Polson for the wake. While donations toward the International Myeloma Foundation will be accepted, the event is focused on camaraderie rather than raising money. 

“There’s more than just a monetary need when people get sick,” Wendi Arnold said. “This addresses the emotional side.” 

Arnold said her husband’s illness has changed her life in many ways. 

“It reminds you that life is bloody short,” she said.

While Joe was receiving treatment, Wendi Arnold was required to take over his duties in the couple’s homemade cheese business. And like her husband, Arnold has also embraced an enduring sense of humor in the face of adversity. 

“We were going to have a wake one way or another,” she said. “It’s great that Joe can take part in it, instead of being propped up in the corner somewhere.”