Arnold Francis Roane was born on October 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He passed away peacefully on October 9, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland where he lived briefly after being a resident in Denver, Colorado for over 35 years.
Arnold was born in Philadelphia to single mother, Mable who later married a kind man named Howard. Both of his parents worked long hours so Arnold learned to be self-sufficient at an early age. He was smart, liked to study, and he was admitted to the top high school, Central High School. He graduated early and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at age 16. He then went to Penn State University where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering.
In 1958, Arnold was introduced to Myrtle Louise Bradway by mutual friends and in 1960, they were married. Until her death in January 2019, Myrtle was Arnold’s soulmate and selfless supporter throughout his accomplished career as corporate executive at General Electric and then Lockheed Martin.
He started his work career at General Electric in the early 60’s. People were not always kind but his intelligence, persistence, and hard work resulted in his assignment to work on General Electric’s contribution to the US space program. Arnold's accomplishments opened the door of opportunity for Blacks at GE. He was one of the first African Americans to complete GE's esteemed Crotonville program for leaders. In 1973, Arnold was named General Electric's first participant in the Sloan Fellow's program at MIT. After a year of study and world travel (that included the former Soviet Union, East Germany, and Japan) with 50 other global corporate executives, he was awarded a Masters of Science in Management from MIT. He continued to work for General Electric until 1981, when he accepted an executive position at Lockheed Martin. He retired from Lockheed Martin in 2004.
Throughout his career, Arnold served on community, corporate and educational boards including: Colorado Commission on Space, Science, and Industry; Rocky Mountain Junior Achievement Inc.; Colorado Episcopal Foundation; Girls Inc.; The QualLife Foundation; and the Denver Botanical Gardens. He was an active member and served a term as president of the MIT Sloan Fellows Society Board of Governors, and he served on the MIT Visiting Committee on Sponsored Research. He was also an official interviewer of perspective MIT students.
Arnold enjoyed traveling with Myrtle. In 1978 their family traveled to England, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. Over the years, Arnold and Myrtle also enjoyed annual trips to Aruba, Palm Dessert, San Diego, and Hilton Head. For several decades, they regularly visited all of their children and grandchildren in Cincinnati, Santa Maria, and Boston.
Arnold remained very physically fit up until recent years. For 35+ years, he played tennis 2-3 days a week at 6 am. He was a cross country runner in college and returned to the sport in Colorado completing the Bolder Boulder over ten times. He also enjoyed playing golf however, he did not like the expense or the country club culture often times associated with golf. At home, he was an excellent handyman and would fix or upgrade plumbing, heating as well as any appliance or car regardless if he knew what he was doing. He maintained the exterior of the house and the property at a very high level of quality. He never hired any help and did all of the work -- grass, trees, shrubs, flowers, leaf and snow removal – all of it! He likes to brag that he painted the entire exterior of the house – when he was 70!!
Church was a staple for Arnold for his entire life. His grandfather was a Baptist minister (the kind that preached fire and brimstone to rain on all sinners!) and as young boy he spent a lot of time in church. When he married Myrtle, he switched and became a member of the Episcopal Church. He was always a very active church leader. In Denver, he served on the Episcopal Diocese Board and as an advisor on ethics to the regional bishop. Late in life he enjoyed worshipping with his wife and friends at Park Hill United Methodist Church.
Arnold was a very social (not shy) introvert. He liked his peace more than he liked people. He was goal oriented and self-motivated and did not shy away from hard work. He had quick wit and in spite of his dementia, he could still tell and appreciate jokes.
Arnold is survived by: his daughters Arlene Roane Rahn and her husband, Henry Rahn of Baltimore, Maryland and Denise Roane Barnes and her husband Rick Barnes of Grafton, Massachusetts; his niece Dr. Reverend Jill Bradway of Brooklyn, NY; his granddaughters Amina Taylor Reilly, and Devon Beebe Wood; and his cousin Richard Smith, Sr. He is preceded in death by his wife Myrtle Louise Roane; his daughter Rochell Roane Beebe; his mother Mabel Brown and father Howard Brown.
