Arvilla Rose Arno

HAMILTON- Arvilla Rose Arno, nee Fleming, 80, of Hamilton passed away Monday, March 15, 2010 at her home. She was born December 31st, 1929 in Bear Creek (Whitehall area), Montana to William and Jessie Fleming, the oldest of six children. Growing-up, Arvilla claimed to have been a well-behaved but stubborn child who loved to read and would often sit up late using only the light of the moon or a lone street light to finish her latest story.

From 1943 to 1947 Arvilla attended Anaconda High School, her friends called her "Irish" because of her fair skin, bright blue eyes and blue-black hair. During this time she met the love of her life, Richard "Dick" Earling Arno. While he was in the Navy she wrote to him in green ink, a token of her Irish nickname. On April 5th, 1950 Arvilla and Dick were married in Boulder, Montana and they settled in Opportunity, Montana where they had three children. In 1959 the family moved to Watsonville, California where Arvilla and Dick raised their children while she worked as a bookkeeper. Though some would think it mundane, Arvilla was intrigued and meticulous with her bookkeeping and throughout the entirety of her and Dick's life together she joyfully accounted for every cent they had ever had, down to the cost of the last postage stamp.

In 1989 Arvilla and Dick moved to Hamilton, to be closer to their son. Arvilla had a keen interest in the family's history and enjoyed sharing it with others. Through careful and painstaking research she traced her family's roots back to the 16th and 17th century in Fife, Scotland. Arvilla's family was always a source of love and pride for her, she cherished the memories of those who had gone before her and rejoiced in the moments that she was able to spend with those who still surrounded her. She kept every card, letter and gift ever given to her and remembered who each one was from and the occasion that they were given. Her memories and ability to always draw upon them were always a defining characteristic of hers, one that her family deeply admired and adored.

Arvilla was preceded in death by parents, her brothers Roland, William, Charles, and Patrick, and her sister Irene. She is survived by her loving husband Richard, her sister Margaret Bogue of Bozeman, her son Gary E. Arno and his wife Rosalie of Darby, her daughter Terri R. Mullis and her husband Wayne of Hamilton, her daughter Carol Ann Arno of Spokane, Washington, her grandchildren; Naomi, Jennifer, JoAnn, Zachariah, RuthAnn, Gary, Peter, Adom, April, Cathryn, and Richard, twenty-two great-A