Bob and Mary Margaret Arnold
Bob and Mary Margaret will be remembered most for their love of family and friends and their commitment to community and church. In fact, their fund was created to provide support to the First Baptist Church in Salem, where they were members for more than 70 years and Mary Margaret served as Treasurer for 50 years.
Sundays were always for church, and then lunch at the bowling alley where Bob would patiently wait for Mary Margaret to speak to every person she walked past on the way to the door. They were certainly connected to the community, and they chose to leave their legacy through the Washington County Community Foundation.
Mary Margaret was born to Lowell & Carrie Marie (Morris) Magner on Sept. 30, 1923, in Paoli, Indiana as the oldest of six Magner children. She graduated from Orleans High School in 1941 and received a degree from Bryant-Stratton Business College in Louisville, Kentucky. Mary Margaret started work at the Link Handle Company in Salem, Indiana and later spent more than 30 years as treasurer of Salem Community Schools. She met Bob when he was home on leave from the Army during WWII.
Bob was born May 2, 1919, to Ralph and Mayme (Durnil) Arnold and had one older brother. He was raised in Salem, graduated from Salem High School in 1938 and served his country. He first worked at Boggs & Justi men’s clothing store as a teenager and took over when Reed and Carrie Boggs retired. Bob owned the business for more than 25 years.
Mary Margaret liked to tell the story of Bob helping his Aunt Desse take care of the Rudder Pharmacy on the Salem Public Square, where she encouraged him to propose with a family diamond. She said yes, they married on Nov. 26, 1944, and that was the beginning of a long and loving life together for Bob and Mary Margaret.
Most Friday nights they would go out to dinner with friends, and they played bridge once a month for years and years. As members of the First Baptist Church and charter members of Western Hills Country Club they became active members of the community, and they gave back every chance they got.
Mary Margaret joined the Salem Hospital Auxiliary and managed the Washington County Hospital gift shop for 25 years. She was a member of the Washington County Community Foundation and Phi Beta Psi sorority.
Bob was a Lion’s Club Member for 55 years and received the Lions International Melvin Jones Award. He was also the golf coach for Salem Middle School and volunteered for Washington County Memorial Hospital and the Depot at Steven’s Museum.
The couple had one son Robert Reed "Bobby" Arnold who met Jacqueline "Jackie" Jones in high school. They both graduated from Indiana University, moved back to Salem and bought Aune Desse’s house. Bobby and Jackie married Dec. 29, 1973. They had one daughter, Laura Arnold, who changed the game for Bob and Mary Margret as they became known as “Papa” and “Lala.”
While they traveled often to visit the Magner side of the family with many close nieces and nephews, and spent many winters vacationing in Florida, the only flight Mary Margaret ever boarded was to see her granddaughter in New York. She also attended her wedding to Todd Fisher in Bloomington, Indiana on the anniversary of Bobby and Jackie Dec. 29, 2018.
Bob, a lifelong resident of Washington County, passed away July 26, 2006, and was preceded in death by one brother, Ralph Arnold. Many years later, Mary Margret died on January 24, 2020, after doing things “her way” for 96 years. She was preceded in death by siblings Howard Magner, Lawrence Magner and Imogene Hazelbaker. Her surviving siblings included Harold Magner and Joanne Hudson.
