James C Arnold

James Chapman Arnold, Jr., of North Conway, New Hampshire, died peacefully on September 10, 2023, at the Merriman House in North Conway after a long illness. The first child of James Chapman Arnold, Sr., and Grace Dinsmore Watson Arnold, Jim was born on November 7, 1936, in Washington, D.C., and spent his entire childhood in Virginia, except from 1943 to 1945. He, his mother, and sister Ann, lived with his maternal grandparents in San Diego, California, during those years, while his father served in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. Jim graduated at the age of 17 from George Mason Jr. Sr. High School in Falls Church, Virginia, and joined the Navy for two years of active duty the same year, as soon as he turned 18. After receiving his honorable discharge from the Navy, he attended Arkansas State University in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he received his degree in electrical engineering in 1961. Upon graduation, he went to work for the Rural Electrification Administration in Washington, D.C. He loved his work, advising Rural Electric Cooperatives all over the United States about electric transformers. He received a citation for excellence for his work at REA, and was a lifetime member of IEEE (the Institute of Electical and Electronic Engineers), the world’s largest technical professional organization. He served on the board of the Washington, D.C. section, rising to the office of section president. Jim’s hallmark was loyalty and he spent his entire career with REA, retiring in 1991 at the age of 55. That is when his adventures began. Jim loved to ski and he loved to travel. Wherever in the world business took him, if there was skiing available, he tried it out: Italy, Japan, South America, Poland, Africa, but especially Spain. As a long-time member of the Washington Ski Club, his favorite stop in America was North Conway. The first thing he did when he retired was to pack his bags and spend a year exploring Spain. His headquarters was Malaga, where for years he spent vacations studying in Spanish language school and traveling. From Malaga, he would load his backpack and take extensive bus trips throughout the country. Jim was especially enthralled with the history of Spain and could recite the lineage of the Spanish Royal family for hundreds of years back. The director of the Cervantes Escuela Internacional said that Jim knew more about Spain than any native. After the year in Spain, Jim moved permanently to North Conway. For 15 years he skied every minute that was available. He was a member of a ski club, a hunt club, and the North Conway Historical Society, playing active roles in each. When his skiing years were finished, he spent several years as the volunteer acting curator of the Historical Society at the Eastman Lord House, where he relished his growing knowledge of local history and giving lively tours to visitors. When he traveled in Spain, Jim maintained a daily journal, written with a fountain pen. He continued the journal for the rest of his life. He said that his proudest accomplishment was teaching his great niece, Alison Grace, to love and practice formal written correspondence by fountain pen. A lifelong bachelor, family was Jim’s top priority. Jim was preceded in death by his parents. Survivors include siblings, Ann Arnold Hunter (Stephen) of Fort Valley, Virginia, Mott Hunton Arnold II (Antoinette) of Otis, Oregon, and Grace Dinsmore Arnold Elliott (widow of Francis) of Hopewell, Virginia; nine nieces and nephews, Cynthia Ann Hunter Wallen (Andrew), Alice Theresa Hunter Hines (John), Robert Harry Hunter, Maud Arnold Hunter Watson (Alan), Benjamin Francis Elliott (Lisa), Adam Moxim Elliott, James Chapman Elliott (Michelle), Lee Penn Elliott, and Mott Hunton Arnold III; 13 great nieces and nephews; and nine great-great nieces and nephews, all of whom he cherished. He also loved and remembered his several first cousins, William Sears Estabrook, Edmund Penn Estabrook (Barbara), Judith Tucker Gilbert (Gene), Michael Elston Tucker and his wife, Leon Webb Scales, Ann Chapman Scales and her husband, some special friends, Angelika Groening, Joe and Irene Jacintho, and Tony and Shirley Freitas, and his newest acquaintances, the wonderful staff at Merriman House. Family night will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. September 21 at Furber & White Funeral Home in North Conway. Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m. at the North Conway Cemetery. Those wishing to make a donation should consider the Gibson Center, 14 Grove Street, North Conway, NH 03860.