Marion Arnold

MARION F. ARNOLD, 91, died peacefully, December 7, 2005 at the Texas State Veterans Home in Bonham, Texas. He was born June 19, 1914 in Houston, Texas, the son of John A. and Carrie V. Henrie Arnold. After graduating from Reagan High School in 1932, he went to work as an usher for the Interstate Theaters in Houston and was a member of the Texas Defense Guard. In 1936, he was employed by Gulf Oil Corporation where he worked as a Senior Clerk and Field Material Supervisor until his retirement in 1978. From February 1942 until his discharge in June 1944, he served in the United States Navy as an Electricians Mate. He was stationed at Bizerte and Tunis and went with landing craft operations into Sicily. On May 11, 1945, he married Margaret A. Scott in San Francisco. They lived in Heidelberg and Laurel, Mississippi until 1961 when they moved to New Orleans. In his spare time, he was active with the Boy Scouts. He became a scout in 1926 and later became Scoutmaster of the oldest Troop in the Sam Houston Area Council. He served as a troop leader for many years as well as District Commissioner. He was also a first aid instructor with the American Red Cross. In Laurel, he was President of the Prentiss Elementary School PTA and entertained school children with a magic program about petroleum products. However, his greatest interest was travel which he began at an early age with trips to the Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas, the Chicago Worlds Fair, the New York Worlds Fair and a visit to Montreal to see the Dionne Quintuplets. He particularly enjoyed camping and was one of the founders of the West Bank Campers Club in New Orleans. Over the years he camped in tents, a truck camper, travel trailers and a motor home. After retirement, he returned to Texas with his wife and settled in the beautiful Hill Country town of Kerrville. He continued his travels, visiting all fifty states, Canada, and Mexico. He was a member of the Good Sams, the Holiday Ramblers, and other local camping clubs. Later he expanded his travels to include cruises all over the world and adventure trips to Africa and South America. When not on the road, he tended his cactus garden. His wife of fiftytwo years preceded him in death in 1997. He is survived by his two daughters, Kathleen Williston of Plano, TX and Linda Arnold of Euless, TX and his brother, John Arnold of Houston. He believed in honoring the dead by helping the living. The family asks that donations be made to your favorite charity. A memorial service will be held on Friday, Jan 13, 2006 at 1:30 p.m. at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.

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