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Name: Arnold Souder Jr.
Spouse: Lois Eileen Hawbaker Souder (Nickname = Eileen)
Address
DECEASED 2012,
Phone Number
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Personal Website

Class of

1941 Attended from through

Graduated Here?

Yes   

If graduated elsewhere, graduated from:

College Attended:

     
Birthdate: August 15, 1923   
Date of Death: December 10, 2012  
       

Current Occupation:

 

Notes:

Arnold Souder, Jr., originally of Columbia City, died Dec. 10, 2012, at his residence in Sante Fe, N.M. He was born on Aug. 15, 1923, to Edna (Baker) and Arnold Souder, Sr. in Columbia City.

He grew up in Columbia City, graduating high school in 1941 and attending nearby Manchester College that fall.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1943, enrolling in the Army Specialized Training Program in medicine at Indiana University. He served as a laboratory technician and clerk at Tripler General Hospital, Ft. Schafter in Honolulu, Hawaii. After his discharge, he returned to Manchester College to finish his B.S. degree in 1947.

He married Lois Eileen Hawbaker Dec. 27, 1947, and they soon relocated to Golden, Colo. where he completed a post-graduate program in metallurgy at the Colorado School of Mines.

His first professional job began in 1949, with Kennecott Copper Company in Hurley, N.M. The family relocated to Independence, Miss. in 1954, when he took a job as a product manager for Armco Steel Co. in Kansas City, rising to manager before retiring in 1983.

Beginning in the mid-1960s, Mr. Souder traveled internationally for Armco Steel, setting up grinding media manufacturing facilities in Chile, the Philippines, and northern Italy. Arnold was instrumental in bringing international manufacturing techniques to the U.S. In 1981 he completed a M.A. in Liberal Studies at Baker/SMU. While living in Independence, Arnold was involved in the Unitarian Church and the American Field Service.

The family hosted international high school students from Denmark, Turkey, Yugoslavia and Germany. The also hosted international students studying English at Liberty College during holidays in the early 1960s, including many from Africa's new, post-colonial countries.

Throughout his life, Arnie particularly enjoyed road trips and camping with his family.

Arnie and Eileen retired to Santa Fe in 1983, moving into a passive solar home in El Dorado. For many years he served on various residents' committees, was active with the El Dorado Volunteer Fire Department, and volunteered for many local organizations (including Santa Fe Farmers' Market, Museum of Indian Arts, and Habitat For Humanity).

When his health began to deteriorate from prostrate cancer, he and Eileen moved into El Castillo in the summer of 2012.

Arnold Souder, Jr. is preceded in death by his son, Karl.

Surviving relatives include his wife of 65 years, Eileen; sister, Norma Jean Bibb of Dearborn, Mich.; niece, Susan Ekkens of Grand Rapids, Mich.; sons, Jon (Norma) Kline of Coos Bay, Oreg. and Mark of Seattle, Wash.; daughter-in-law, Jennifer Pruett, husband, Kennan Girdner and two darling grandchildren, Karen Girdner and Emily Souder of Santa Fe, N.M.; and foreign exchange students Hans Bistrup Larsen, Reha Erzurumlu and Obrad Kekanovich.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Karl Souder Award at the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, 1405 Luisa, Santa Fe, N.M. 87505. or the Eldorado Fire and Rescue Association, PMB 430, 7 Avenida Vista Grande B7, Santa Fe, N.M. 87508.

 
Last Updated: 12-17-2012 Alumni ID: 11925
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