Wendell Arrington Obituary (1936 - 2019)

Doctor Wendell Snow Arrington, PhD, MD, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 3rd, 1936 and returned to The Lord, Jesus Christ, on December 10th, 2019 from his home in El Paso, Texas, after a lengthy battle with cancer. Dad was 83. He was greatly helped in his salvation by his loving, surviving widow, Maria (Montez) Arrington, also of El Paso. They were happily married for 28 years since 1991. Dad, Maria and her daughter, Adriana, enjoyed a blessed life together in El Paso, Texas. Dr. Arrington’s viewing and services will be held at 1:00 PM December 21st, 2019 at the Nelson Family Mortuary in Provo, Utah. Wendell's parents were Joseph Earl Arrington, a WWI Veteran and Technical Sergeant, who, in Paris, France, labored to help pen the Armistice of November 11th, 1919 ending The Great War. His mother, Genevieve (Thornton) Arrington, was a graduate, licensed Social Worker who worked in Queens, New York, near the family's home. Joseph was a prolific published writer focused upon the Mormon Nauvoo Temple and the Great Salt Lake Basin. Dad generously donated his father's extensive 40,000 volume book collection from the home in Queens on early Americana from the 1600's to present day to the Brigham Young University (BYU). Joseph also collected paintings of the beautiful Hudson Valley River. In 1979, Wendell donated those paintings in honor of his parents to the new American Wing of the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art where they are still proudly displayed. Dr. Arrington is survived by three generations living across the United States. His children are Adriana (Chavez) Arenas of El Paso, Texas, who works as a High School Guidance Counselor. Adriana lives next door and proudly took great care of both her Mother, Maria and Wendell over recent years alongside her devoted husband, Daniel Arenas. Adriana's children are Faith Arenas and Daniela Arenas who dearly miss their "Pa." Judy Ann (Arrington) Morrise of Portland, Oregon, has grandchildren Amanda Rose (Morrise) Winters, Jessica Lauren (Morrise) Wise, Martha Grace Morrise and Isaac Arrington Morrise, an accomplished Eagle Scout. Amanda is mother to Dad's only great grandchild, Claire Michelle Winters. Judy, Matthew, her husband, and all their children are quite studious, industrious and accomplished. Colonel (Retired) Michael Joseph Arrington with his wife, Sherri Leigh (Reeves) Arrington, have two of his grandson's, William Michael Arrington and Matthew Joseph Arrington. All reside in Geismar, Louisiana, living a proper Cajun lifestyle. Mike works as a Senior Project Engineer at BASF. Wendell was instrumental in gaining appointment for Mike to The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Theresa Jean Arrington resides in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, home to The Arrington's since 1966. Teri lives with and cares for Wendell's first wife, Carol Jean (Havens) Woltemate, Mother to their four children and a retired Registered Nurse. Teri is a dedicated Emergency Room Technician and helped care for Dad in the twilight of his life. The youngest daughter, Patricia Lynn (Arrington) Eckert resides in New Jersey with her husband Robert Eckert and the youngest grandson, Lucas Robert Eckert. Patty is an extremely talented commercial artist who coincidentally inherited Wendell's sweet tooth. Dr. Arrington was a very accomplished scholar, academician, Computer Scientist, Medical Doctor, Physicist and College Professor. Wendell graduated with a bachelor’s in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) at Troy, New York, in 1957. He earned his Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD) from RPI in Applied Mathematics and X-Ray Physics in 1961. Dad was a Physics Professor at RPI while he and Carol started their family in nearby Clifton Park, New York. After earning his PhD, Wendell worked at Merck Sharp & Dohme (Merck Pharmaceuticals) and later transferred the family to Doylestown, Pennsylvania in September 1966. There he worked at Merck's West Point, Pennsylvania plant until 1967 when he started consulting as a Computer Scientist for notable firms like IBM in Fishkill, New York. Later that year, Dr. Arrington joined Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Radnor, Pennsylvania as a Computer Scientist. He rose to become Senior Director, Scientific Computer Applications for Wyeth where he developed research software and hardware for the next 25 years followed by his retirement in 1992. During his career with Wyeth, Wendell earned additional graduate degrees of Master's in Business Administration (MBA) from Temple University in 1978 and a Master of Taxation from Villanova University in 1987. He also worked toward a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) degree. In 1997, Dr. Arrington earned his prized Medical Degree (MD) in Internal Medicine from the Spartan Health Sciences University Medical School in Saint Lucia. Dad enjoyed classical music and was fluent in German, French and Spanish. In his spare time, Wendell was a real estate owner who leased luxury apartments in the greater suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. In his later years, Dr. Arrington became a successful private investor. Dad will be laid to rest with his parents in the East Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Provo, Utah, with a beautiful view overlooking the Brigham Young University. We love you very much, Dad! We miss you and remember all the wonderful times we had together (especially our treks West!). Thank you for always being our Father and loving Dad. We look forward to seeing you again at the river flowing from beneath the Lord's throne! Amen.