Marion Delbert Arnott

Marion Delbert Arnott was born June 30, 1941, in Toledo, OH, to Fred and Geneva Arnott. His father passed away when he was 14. He, his mother, and his brother Roger settled in Lancaster, OH, where he graduated high school in 1959. Attending Sixth Avenue United Methodist Church in Lancaster, he met Julia Wicker.

In 1961, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. After his initial training, he was posted to a remote Early Warning Radar site linked with Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota. While he was home on leave in April of 1962, he and Julia were married. When his active duty commitment was up in 1965, they returned to Lancaster with their first child, Wesley. 

During that time, he worked as a TV repairman and saw the birth of two more children, a daughter, April, and another son, Alan. He took a job at ElectroSonics, a manufacturer of aircraft guidance systems based at Port Columbus Airport. In 1968, after commuting between Lancaster and Columbus, he moved his young family to Central Ohio. 

Over the years, he worked as a maintenance man, a truck driver, and a warehouse man. In the mid-1970s, because of his deep desire to serve others, he took a position as Maintenance Director at New Hope Boys’ Ranch, a home for troubled boys. Following a shake-up in the church that sponsored the facility, his position was eliminated and he returned to truck driving. In the mid-1980s, armed with that same desire to serve, he took a position at Victory Mission, an inner-city food pantry and homeless shelter. He later returned to maintenance work and eventually took an early retirement.

Following retirement, still armed with a deep desire to serve the needy in Jesus’ Name, he took full advantage of the opportunity to volunteer at Center of Hope (formerly Victory Mission). One of his greatest joys there was driving their truck to and from Mid-Ohio Food Bank every week.

He loved Jesus and His Word and lived his life to serve others. From its beginning in the dining room of Western Sizzlin’ Steak House, through many moves and changes, he was a faithful member of Christian Life Church of Westerville, serving for many years as a deacon. He could repair just about anything and, over the years, could be found in the church building fixing something that needed fixed. He continued to attend services for as long as his health permitted and, after he was no longer able to attend, often asked about what was going on in the church and what was being ministered from the Word.

At 4:40 in the afternoon on September 7, 2024, in his home and surrounded by members of his family, he passed into his eternal rest and heard his beloved Savior say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” He is survived by Julia, the love of his life for 62 years, their children Wesley and his wife Kim, April and her husband Paul, Alan and his wife Stephanie, eight grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.

 In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to either Christian Life Church of Westerville, 425 N. Spring Rd., Westerville, OH 43082, or Center of Hope, www.victorycoh.org.