Lasting Memories

Margaret Arnold
Aug. 18, 1916-March 1, 2011
Palo Alto, California

Margaret West Arnold, a long-term resident and former First Lady of Palo Alto, died March 1, 2011, after suffering a stroke.

Born Aug. 18, 1916, in Live Oak, Florida, she graduated from Florida State College for Women with a degree in home economics. Remembered by family members for her credo, "pass it on," she helped to fund siblings' educations. She met her husband Edward Arnold, future mayor of Palo Alto, on a weekend trip to Princeton, N.J., while working as a merchandiser in New York City.

After an eight-month courtship, her husband was soon drafted into Army service, and the Army brought the couple west to Texas and then Oakland, where she had daughters Nancy and Martha. Edward began a career as a broker in San Francisco, and the couple decided to buy a home on the Peninsula, moving to unincorporated Barron Park in 1950. Her husband served three terms as mayor in the 1960s.

Remembered by her children for her "acute sense of right and wrong," she was active in community work. She established a Girl Scouts program called "Camp Friendship," which gave underprivileged girls from East Palo Alto a chance to attend a camp run by older Girl Scouts counselors, and started a branch of the Palo Alto Food Closet at her church. She also ran annual fundraising bazaars and started a stuffed-toy making workshop for the Crafts and Collectibles Shop at Avenidas.

She was honored by the PTA Council and the Community of Presbyterian Women with honorary lifetime membership and received a "Thanks" badge from the National Girl Scouts Council. Briefly a member of the Avenidas Board of Directors, she was honored in 2000 with the Lifetime of Achievement Award.

Her hobbies included creating arts and crafts to benefit local schools and nonprofits and researching a detailed family history. Her family intends to compile and publish the genealogical research that she began decades ago.

A humble, religious woman and a founding member of Covenant Presbyterian Church, she told the Weekly her core beliefs in 2000: "God put us on this earth for a purpose, and has given each of us special talents. He expects us to use these talents to bring joy and to benefit others. Don't ask or expect repayment. Just pass it on."

She is survived by her husband of 68 years, Edward Arnold, daughter, Nancy, and son-in-law, Ross Weinstein of Seattle, daughter, Martha Alstor of Detroit, daughter, Heidi Arnold of Mountain View, and son, James Arnold and daughter-in-law, Lisa of San Diego. She is also survived by two grandchildren.