Lon Patrick Arnold

Lon Patrick Arnold was born 4/18/1945 in Astoria, Oregon. His parents divorced when he was six, and he lived with his dad in Astoria, while his mom moved several hundred miles south. His daily boyhood prayer was that God would send him a mother. God answered that prayer when his Dad married Marjorie, whom Lon loved very much. At Astoria High School, Lon was co-Captain of the football team, then attended University of Oregon and majored in Parks and Recreation. After college, Lon wanted to avoid the draft, so we joined the Peace Corps and served in Jamaica for two years, partnering with St. Vincent de Paul to teach job skills to young adults. When he returned from Jamaica, the draft was still in effect, so he went to his local recruiting office to register. It turns out his eyesight was so poor they gave him a 4F rating, not qualified to enlist. Lon got a job as Activities Director at the Braille Institute in Los Angeles. He enjoyed the work there, although it barely paid enough to meet his expenses. He learned how to cook, budget, and stretch a penny. One of his favorite activities at the Braille Institute was the Celebrity Gran Prix. Steve McQueen agreed to be the driver and the blind kids had to read the course directions in Braille and tell Mr. McQueen where and when to turn. But Lon, no matter how frugal he was, never seemed to have enough money to make ends meet. Eventually, he ended up at Firestone Tire Factory, on the assembly line. It was a union job with good wages, but it was not in his field, and he hated it. One day his mom, Jean, suggested he move back to Oregon, live with her, and get a job at Pacific Northwest Bell, where they were hiring people to install cable underground. Her second husband, Doug, was Installation and Repair manager for Portland, and he could help him get in. So Lon hit the reset button, moved home, got a new job, and eventually bought a little house on King Road in Milwaukie, Oregon. And then the King Tutankhamen exhibit came to the US, and was slated to come to Seattle, WA. The Telephone Employees Activities Association was putting together an overnight bus trip to the event. Doug and Jean were going, and Lon wanted to go, but all the tickets were sold out. Meanwhile, Larita had bought two tickets, one for herself and one for Renee, her friend. It turned out Renee could not afford to go, so Larita sold back one of the tickets . It went to the name at the top of the wait list, Lon Arnold. But it was an overnight trip, so Lon stayed with his step-dad Doug at the hotel, and Larita bunked with his mom, Jean. Larita's parents also were on the bus, so everyone met everyone on the same day. Being the only two singles on the bus, they sat together. Two weeks later, they dated. Six months later, they were married, in February, 1979, but they always said that their marriage started 3300 years ago in Egypt! And Jean always said, ""I slept with her first!"" So the little house on King Road became a honeymoon cottage. How little was it? About 1200 square feet, including the garage. But it had a little mortgage too, only $253/month. In 1985, Larita was promoted to Telephone Engineer, and soon after they moved to West Linn, closer to Lon's mom. When Pacific Northwest Bell merged with Mountain Bell and Northwestern Bell to form U S WEST Communications, Larita was offered an Engineering Staff Manager position in Denver. The company offered to move them. At that same time, Lon won the Presidents Club, which is a special recognition for outstanding service for the top 0.3% of the employees. Everywhere we went during this period we heard the song ""The Name of The Lord is a High Tower, the Righteous Run into it, and They Are Safe"". We came to understand that The Lord was using that song to mark the path we should walk. It was His assurance to us that this was His plan, and it was unfolding as it should. Lon and Larita flew to Denver to look at houses. Being members of Portland Foursquare, they looked for a Foursquare church in the area. Lon called Living Way Fellowship on Datura Street in Littleton. It was Saturday and no one was in the offices. Galen Yockey was walking by the ringing phone at that moment, and on a sudden impulse, picked up the phone, which, he told us later, was something he never did. Lon and Galen talked for an hour and a half . The next day Galen met us at the door for Sunday Service, and as we walked in, everyone was singing ""The Name of The Lord is a High Tower"". We looked at each other and said ""We're home."" Lon and Larita prayed over what their new house should have and made a list. The third house they looked at had everything on their list, and they bought it that day. And there they have lived for 20 years. The Lord planted them well, and they have put their roots down deep. Eighteen months after they moved to Denver, Larita was promoted to Technical Director of Switching and Signalling at Time Warner Communications. Larita had a beautiful office overlooking the golf course at Inverness, but a co-worker said, ""You better be careful. Everyone in this row of offices has an infant or is expecting."" Larita replied, ""Both my husband and I are barren, and we have prayed for a baby for 17 years. We both have had surgery to correct our issues, and we even did a year and a half of artificial insemination. We tried to adopt 4 times, but every time it fell through. So that would really be a miracle if we got pregnant!"" Three months later, we found we were going to have a baby, our miracle son Lonnie, who will be 17 in April. Larita retired when Lonnie was born, U S WEST Communications became Qwest, and things became increasingly difficult for Lon at work. The company demanded long hours and weekend work. As Lonnie was growing up, sometimes he didn't see Dad for several days, because Dad left early and came home too late. Prostate surgery and complications from that landed Lon in Intensive Care. Soon after, we became aware that Lon's sick days and vacation days were being counted against him in his productivity rating. Three months of low productivity ratings could mean he would be fired and lose his pension. Lon and Larita decided that was too much to risk, so Lon retired in 2005 with 31 years service in the telephone industry. Lon loved retirement and Lon and Lonnie got involved with Boy Scouts, rising to Assistant Scoutmaster. He realized his true calling was working with people, particularly in the Great Outdoors. He said he would have liked to start over again and be a National Park Ranger. We had to have unlimited minutes plans on our cell phones because Lon would consistently use all the minutes in the plan each month. You see, he genuinely enjoyed people, and could talk with them for hours. He was ever the champion of the underdog, anyone who needed a friend, anyone having a setback. He would even cheer for the lower-ranked team at any sporting event. It was his particular gift. The Arnold's visited as many of the National Parks as they could in their travel trailer, and enjoyed traveling locally and throughout the West with friends and family. Our last trip together was in August, 2012, to our beloved Glenwood Springs, where we enjoyed the hot springs pool. The next month, September, Lon started to have trouble swallowing. A CAT scan revealed a mass in his esophagus, blocking 90% of the path into his stomach, and lesions on his liver. The cancer was spreading and he needed chemo, which did shrink the esophageal mass to a size where he could eat some foods again by mouth. But none of the six types of chemo available had any effect on the liver lesions, and he didn't tolerate any of the chemo well. Lon wants his ashes to be sprinkled at the South Jetty, near Warrenton, Oregon--a peaceful, wind-swept spot where giant boulders hold back the waves of the Pacific Ocean. From there, you can look south and see the shoreline all the way to the horizon. You can look to the west and see the big ships and storms approaching. And to the east, the beautiful white sand beaches near Fort Stevens State Park. It's not far from where he lived with his Dad and Marjorie while in high school. On the last morning of his life, Larita thanked him for their 34 years together, and told him everything was in place and ready for his passing. Then she played this song for him, Time to Say Goodbye, which is in Italian, but speaks of the light he poured into her life, how he won her heart, and how they will be together on ships sailing new seas to new places they haven't seen. But for now, it's time to say goodbye... Irish Wake will be held on Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 5pm at Lansdowne Arms Irish Pub in the Library Room, 9352 Dorchester St. in the Highlands Ranch Town Center. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2013 at 5pm at Living Way Fellowship, 345 Wildcat Reserve Parkway (Broadway and Wildcat Reserve Parkway). Please share your memories of Lon and condolences with his family by signing the guestbook.