ARNOLD, Fred E. Age 74, of Centerville, passed away Sunday, January 4, 2015. He was born March 20, 1940 to his loving parents Fred and Genevieve Arnold in E. St. Louis, Illinois.  He received his Bachelors degree from Southern Illinois University in 1961. He received his Masters degree in 1963 and Doctoral degree in 1965 in chemistry from the University of Iowa. Dr. Arnold had a distinguished career as a scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Fred spent his entire career as a research chemist in the Polymer Branch, Nonmetallic Materials Division of AFML.  Career highlights include being awarded the Cleary Award (1986 and 1988) given to the top rated scientist at the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, as well as the Fleming Award given to the top five civil servants within the federal government. In 1989 he was awarded a Wright Laboratory Research Fellow. In addition, he authored hundreds of patents, invention disclosures, and peer reviewed journals. He retired in 2002.

He was a loving husband that cherished his wife Betty during their 50 years of marriage. He was a caring and supportive father to his three children Fred Arnold, Scott Arnold, and Dominique Ray. He was the father in-law to Joni Arnold, Cathy Arnold, and Patrick Ray. He had five grandchildren Zach, Tye, Bree, Madeline, and William. We loved him and the world was a little bit brighter with him in it. We will miss his laugh, his enthusiasm for his sports teams, and the love he had for his family.