MANCHESTER - Wynn Edmund Arnold, 60, died Monday, Jan. 28, 2008, at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston after a brave struggle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Wynn was born Sept. 27, 1947, in Ludlow, Mass., the son of William E. and Barbara E. (Smith) Arnold. He was raised and educated in Derry and Keene and graduated from Keene High School in 1965. After high school, he attended and graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in political science. He also studied abroad at Glasgow University in Glasgow, Scotland.
He joined the U.S. Peace Corps from 1970 to 1973 and was in the rural communities of Ecuador. While working full time and raising his young family, he enrolled in night school at Suffolk University School of Law and then graduated in 1981 with his Juris Doctor.
He worked in private practice before starting his 10-year career as the executive director for the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. It was in this position that he was responsible for the restructuring of electricity rates. In 1994, he began working with the New Hampshire Department of Justice. Due to his illness, he retired in 2008 as a senior assistant attorney general. He was a founding member of the attorney general's civil rights task force and was the liaison to the Muslim community.
He was a board member of FamilyStrength and a founding member of the Kol Dodi singing group at Temple Israel in Portsmouth. Wynn was a member of Grace Episcopal Church in Manchester and was a youth teacher for the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. He was an active member of the Interfaith Council of Manchester.
An avid music lover and guitarist, he led contemporary services at the Christ Church in Exeter while living there. He enjoyed hiking, traveling, kayaking, snorkeling, diving and, most of all, spending time with his family.
He was preceded in death by his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Robert and Ilene Falkson.
His family includes his wife of 30 years, Helen (Falkson) Arnold of Manchester; two daughters, Sara Arnold and her husband, Jason Paige, of Manchester and Merrin Shovlin and her husband, Daniel, of Arlington, Mass.; a grandson, Anakin Paige; his parents, William and Barbara Arnold of Manchester; a brother, Jeffrey Arnold and his wife, Susan, of Londonderry; a sister, Gayle Santa and her husband, Michael, of Candia; a brother, Christopher Arnold and his wife, Linda, of Grantham; and many nieces and nephews. He will sorely be missed.
Memorial services will be held today at 11 a.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, 106 Lowell St. in Manchester.
Calling hours will be held today from 4 to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. at the home of the family.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to FamilyStrength, 85 N. State St., Concord 03301; or The Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Vinney St., Boston 02115.
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