Arthur Paul Klausmeier was born May 10, 1942, in Evansville, Indiana, to Arthur H. and Gertrude (Meyer) Klausmeier, and he died on October 21, 2026 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

At the age of two weeks, Art was reborn in Holy Baptism at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Evansville, and at the age of 14, he was confirmed in the Christian faith at St. Paul’s. After graduating from Milwaukee Lutheran High School, Art attended Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois, where he prepared for a ministry to God’s people.

That 61-year ministry began during his time at Concordia with a year as an intern teacher in Zion Lutheran School in Beecher, Illinois. Following his graduation in 1965, Art was assigned to be Director of Christian Education and Youth Minister at Zion Lutheran Church in Schenectady, New York.

In August 1966, after one year at Zion, Art married Susan Marie Niemeyer, his college sweetheart, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Susie had completed her first year of teaching in Long Island, New York, and she joined Art in Schenectady for the beginning of 60 wonderful years of married life.

After two years in Schenectady, both Art and Susie accepted calls to teach at Emmanuel Christian Day School in Baltimore, Maryland. There, Susie gave birth to their first daughter, Julie, and left teaching to become a stay-at-home mother.

In 1977, the young family, now including two more daughters, Kimberly and Christine, moved to Susie’s hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Art served as Minister of Christian Education at Emmanuel Lutheran Church. During the years at Emmanuel, the Klausmeier family grew with the birth of son, Timothy, and Art earned a Master of Arts in Religion at Concordia Theological Seminary, following a year of vicarage at Emmanuel. In 1982 he received a divine call to serve as Emmanuel’s Associate Pastor, and a year later accepted a call to serve as Senior Pastor.

Art shepherded Emmanuel’s flock for 16 years, through September of 1998. During his pastorate, his ministry also included numerous extra duties: seven years as a Circuit Counselor to the Indiana District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, eight years on Concordia Lutheran High School’s Board of Directors, six years with the Lutheran Association of Institutional Ministries (now known as Lutheran Senior Care Ministry)—three as Chairman of its Board of Directors, and four years on the Board of Directors of Lutherans for Life. Beginning in July 1995, Art was elected to the board of the newly formed Lutheran Foundation and, as its vice-chairman, oversaw the writing of the foundation’s articles and bylaws.

In October of 1998, with Emmanuel’s blessing, Art resigned from his pastorate to accept a position as grant advisor on the staff of The Lutheran Foundation, where he remained until he retired in December 2009.

After retirement, Art rejoined the staff at Emmanuel as Pastor Emeritus. For the next nine years, his passion for ministry was also fed by a deep involvement with Lutheran Senior Care Ministry, sharing the Gospel with the growing number of seniors in care facilities throughout the Fort Wayne area.

Pastor Art’s ministry was blessed and enriched with countless dedicated friends and coworkers. To them and to the Church, he leaves behind sincere gratitude and a legacy of faith and love and service to the Lord.

Those who knew Art will fondly remember his quick wit, his gift for making others laugh, time spent on the golf course with friends, and his lifelong enthusiasm for sports.

Art is survived by his wife Susie, and their four children—Julie (Timothy) Kanzelmeyer, Ypsilanti, Michigan; Kimberly (Eric) Schilf, Roselle, Illinois; Christine (Mark) Radio, Westfield, Indiana; and Timothy (Mallory) Klausmeier, Westfield, Indiana—and 11 grandchildren: Jonathan, David, and Jessica Kanzelmeyer; Mia and Ripken Schilf; Sarah, Emily, and Ethan Radio; and Lucy, Jack, and Max Klausmeier; and Art’s brother, Robert. Art was preceded in death by his father, Arthur, and his mother, Gertrude.

Visitation at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 917 West Jefferson Boulevard, Fort Wayne, will be held from 2 p.m.– 4 p.m. and from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. on November 5 and 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. on November 6. The funeral service will be held at Emmanuel at 11:00 a.m. on November 6. Burial will follow immediately after the service at Greenlawn Cemetery. Arrangements were made by Fairhaven Funeral Home, Fort Wayne.

In Lieu of flowers, Memorials may be directed to Emmanuel Lutheran Church’s Heidbrink Scholarship Fund or to Lutheran Senior Care Ministries, PO Box 5054, Fort Wayne, IN 46895.