Mr. James Ray Arnold Sr. Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Mr. James Ray Arnold, Sr., age 95, of Shelbyville, passed away Saturday, September 21, 2019, at Alvin C. York Veterans Medical Center in Murfreesboro. Funeral services will be 10 AM Thursday, September 26, 2019, at Feldhaus Memorial Chapel. Reverend Doug Dezotell and Reverend Jonathan Curry will officiate. Burial, with full military honors, will follow in New Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive visitors 5-7 PM Wednesday at the funeral home. He was born March 18, 1924, in Shelbyville, to the late Moses Sharp and Sarah Pauline Ervin Arnold. He was a retired maintenance supervisor with Empire Pencil Company with 40+ years of service. As a furniture maker, he enjoyed reproducing antique furniture, and was a member of the Bedford County Bee Keepers Association. One of the founders of the EPCO Credit Union, now Heritage South, he served on their Board of Directors. A Veteran of World War II, he fought and served in France, where he received a Purple Heart with Cluster and five Bronze Stars. He held membership in the Purple Heart Association and the American Legion. He was a lifetime member and Past Commander in 1996 and 1997, of the DAV Shelbyville Chapter 43. He served as chaplain for 20+ years with the VFW. He was a faithful and lifelong member of New Bethel Baptist Church, where he was RA Leader, Deacon and Sunday School Teacher. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, James Ray Arnold, Jr.; two brothers, Charlie Arnold and Needham Avery Arnold; mother in law and father in law, Minnie and Reuben Stephens; sister in law and brother in law, Ruth and Ernest King. Survivors include his wife of 77 years, Frances Stephens Arnold, of Shelbyville; a daughter, Linda Arnold Stimpson, and her husband, Dr. Stephen Stimpson, of Shelbyville; daughter in law, Patti Arnold, of Beech Grove; brother, Bill Arnold, and his wife Rachel, of New Mexico; grandchildren, Melissa Fox, and her husband Andy, Ginny Shelton, and her husband Marty, Dr. Andrea Anderson, and her husband Bill, and Tricia Holtz, and her significant other Jason Fricke; great grandchildren, Alan Zachary, and his wife Jillian, Amanda Ruslander, and her husband Adam, Sarah Smith, Cody Shelton, Jamie Fox, Justin Smith, Julia Anderson, Hunter Shelton, and Dalton Holtz; his faithful and loving four legged companion, “B.B.” Mr. Arnold would be honored if memorials were made to Wounded Warriors Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8517, or Fisher House Foundation, Inc., 12300 Twinbrook Parkway #410, Rockville, MD 20852 Feldhaus Memorial Chapel is assisting the family.

Mr. James Ray Arnold Sr.

March 18, 1924 - September 21, 2019