06/12/2024
Sad news has come to Post 6785, long time life member & USO Volunteer LT COL Eugene Arnold, USAF Ret. passed from this earth March 28, 2024 after a lengthy battle with cancer 🇺🇸💜🇺🇸
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Eugene "Geno" Arnold, 76, passed away on March 28th, 2024, at his home in Kent, Washington, just outside of Seattle. After a 1.5 year battle with cancer, he left this world with his wife Ivy and daughter Brittany by his side.
Eugene was a loving and well-respected son, brother, husband, father, and aviator born in 1947 in Arcadia, Wisconsin. His father Melvin Arnold was a WWII Army Veteran who later went on to own Arnold Construction Company, and mother Eunice (Mottley) Arnold was a school teacher and bookkeeper for the family construction business. Eugene grew up a devout Catholic and enjoyed spending time with his younger brothers and sisters, as he was the oldest of eight siblings. He played on the high school football team, loved water skiing behind the family boat, and in the summers would work with his father Melvin at the family-owned construction business, or help on his uncle's farm. After graduating from Arcadia High School in 1965, he went on to double major with a BS in both Physics and Mathematics at UW Eau Claire, and received an MS in Information Systems Technology from George Washington University.
Before completing undergrad, he had never flown in a plane. Despite this, his dreams of the wild blue yonder brought out his fierce determination to become a pilot, so he enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1970 at the age of 22. He completed Undergraduate Pilot Training in 1971 and went on to become a flight instructor and operationally flew the T-38, F-4, T-39, and F-15 jets. He was subsequently accepted into the elite USAF Test Pilot School (TPS) at Edwards Air Force Base and graduated in 1981. While at Edwards AFB, he met his wife Ivy (Ritchie) Arnold, who is originally from England and would later go on to be a Project Manager at Boeing. They had their daughter Brittany Arnold in 1985, who is now an Emergency Medicine Doctor in Portland, OR.
Since graduating from USAF TPS, Eugene went on to fly thousands of hours, becoming a Test Pilot Instructor at the National Test Pilot School in Mojave, California after his retirement from the USAF in 1993, and a Flight Test Pilot with the Federal Aviation Administration and Seattle Aircraft Certification Office from 1996-2016. He retired to a life of leisure as a well-decorated USAF and FAA Experimental Test Pilot - having flown and tested planes and participated in weapons and avionics testing all over the world for most major airplane manufacturers.
In his spare time Eugene shared his love of the outdoors with his daughter Brittany - hiking, skiing, camping, and flying Cessnas around the state of Washington. Since his retirement in 2016, he volunteered many hours with the United Service Organizations at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, helping young soldiers along their travels, and also volunteered with Catholic Community Services driving elderly and sick patients to medical appointments. He became well-seasoned at road trips and visited national parks and family members all over the U.S. He also researched countless hours of family genealogy and WWII history as it pertains to those Veterans who served in the War from his hometown of Arcadia, WI. He was in the process of writing a book from his research and shared his notes with his daughter before his passing, who is proud to one day finish the book in Eugene's honor.
Eugene is survived by his wife, Ivy; daughter, Brittany; and seven siblings, Gary, Jim, Mitch, Mark, Bill, Marie, and Margi. A true philanthropist, Eugene would request that in lieu of flowers, you consider donating to one of his respected charities in his honor: United Service Organizations, Disabled American Veterans, or Catholic Relief Services
