Memorials › Billy Len Arnold

Billy Len Arnold

17 Aug 1926 – 27 Nov 2023

Birth	17 Aug 1926
Death	27 Nov 2023
Cemetery	Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery Dallas , Dallas County , Texas , USA
Added by	Joel Farringer on 02 Dec 2023
FaG	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/261979766

Bio

Billy Len Arnold died peacefully at his home in Grand Prairie on November 27, 2023, at 97 years old. He was a Godly man that loved people, especially his family, and was a lifelong servant to his community. Bill was born in the small farming community of Peerless in Hopkins County, Texas on August 17, 1926. As the middle child among a brother and 3 sisters, the siblings were known around Peerless as the "friendly five". He was raised by his mother, Bessie, beloved grandparents John and Agnes Evans and uncles Marvin, Bascom and Sam Evans. Bill first attended a small community school in Peerless. When several area communities consolidated to form North Hopkins School, Bill became a member of the first graduating class in 1944. He drove a school bus route as a high school senior. After high school Bill enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Within months he was aboard the light cruiser U.S.S. Columbia serving in the South Pacific during the late stages of WWII. After an Honorable Discharge from the Navy, he attended East Texas State Teachers College (now Texas A&M-Commerce). He was able to attend college largely due to the G.I. Bill. It was there he met the love of his life, Laura Kathryn Riggs. They married in 1951… a union that would last for 72 years until his death. Upon his graduation from East Texas State, Bill became the first member of his family to receive a college degree. He went on to earn a master's degree in education. Bean-Massey-Burge Funeral Home

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S1 US NAVY WORLD WAR II

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