- Date Of Birth: December 19, 1933
- Date Of Death: June 8, 2019
- State: Colorado
Christine E. Arnold, age 85, passed away in Aurora, Colorado on June 8, 2019. She was deeply loved by her family and will be greatly missed.
Christine was born on a farm in Halifax County, North Carolina, on December 19, 1933 to Mack Cullen Etheridge and Mary Della Bland Etheridge; she was number five of eleven children. In 1950, at the age of 16, Christine’s family moved to Richmond, Virginia, where she attended John Marshall High School. It was there that Chris met her late husband, James (Jim) Lewis Arnold, although they did not marry until 1956.
Christine married her first husband, Horace Haywood Glass, and gave birth to her first son, Ryland Stuart Glass in 1953. Three weeks after Ryland was born, Horace was killed in an automobile accident. Chris worked for the telephone company from 1952 to 1956, until she married her late husband and high school sweetheart, James (Jim) Lewis Arnold.
Shortly after their marriage, Christine, Jim and Ryland moved to Florida, where Jim was stationed in the Air Force. This is where Christine gave birth to her second son, Mark Arnold, in the Eglin AFB hospital. Jim was stationed in Japan for a short time in the spring of 1957, leaving Christine and the boys in Richmond, Virginia. After Jim returned from Japan, the family moved to the Washington D.C. area, where Christine gave birth to her third son, Glenn Arnold, in the Andrews AFB hospital. Just fifteen months later, Jim was re-stationed, and the family moved to North Dakota, where they remained for the next five years. During this time, Christine gave birth to her fourth son, Gregory Arnold, in 1960. She then gave birth to her first and only daughter, Holly (Meis) Arnold, in 1962. Christine always wanted a little girl!
In September of 1963, the family was able to move closer to family in Richmond, when Jim was given a special assignment to the Washington Air Defense sector at Fort Lee, Virginia, where they remained for the next three years. After their time in Virginia, Jim was re-stationed at ENT AFB in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where the family lived for the next four years until they moved again, when Jim was given a special assignment at Fort Mormouth, New Jersey. During their nine months in New Jersey, Christine and the kids were able to spend many memorable days at the beach, while Jim was away.
After many years of moving around the country, Jim was assigned to Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado, where the family bought their first home. Although Jim was sent to Thailand shortly after they purchased their home, the family remained in Aurora, Colorado. It was in Colorado where the children finished school and began to marry and have children of their own.
When Holly was in junior high, Christine began to work for the J.C. Penney Custom Design Department, where she was employed for the next five years. Christine worked for Phillips Petroleum Company for the next seventeen years, until she retired in April of 1995.
