Thomas M. Arnold

Thomas Michael “Tom” Arnold was born on February 8, 1947 in Vancouver, Washington to Or-son Pratt and Nadine June Wells Arnold. He returned to his heavenly home on October 25, 2020.

Tom was born and raised in Vancouver, Washington with his older brother John and younger sister Pamela. He attended Ft. Vancouver High School, Class of 1965, where he was a stand out athlete, lettering in basketball, football, and track and field. After high school, he attended Brigham Young University for a year, where he continued to run track and play football. At age 19, he served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in what was then known as the North Mexico Mission.

In the spring of 1965, Tom met the woman that would ever change his life for the better, the love of his life and who he described as his “much better half”, Elana “Lollie” Gullikson. They were married in Vancouver, Washington on January 31, 1969 and sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple 3 days later, on February 3, 1969. After being married, they settled in the Provo/Orem area while Tom attended Brigham Young University. They later moved their family to Taylorsville, Utah, where they shared 38 years of marriage, until Lollie’s passing in 2007. Together they raised 5 beautiful children, 3 sons and 2 daughters. In 2008, Tom married Julie Carter. They lived in Lehi, Utah, before settling again in Taylorsville, where they lived up until the time of Tom’s passing.

Tom worked as a salesman by profession. He worked for a variety of companies involved in the printing and pre-press industry. He was well respected and highly regarded in his industry for being honest, fair, and knowledgeable. While his work kept him busy traveling for much of the week, he always found time to be involved in the lives of his children and later his grandchildren. He was known for his hard work ethic and dedication, but for Tom, he viewed his job as simply a means of supporting his family and his baseball habit.

Tom was heavily involved in coaching baseball, being a staple of Taylorsville Baseball for nearly 30 years. He had a great baseball mind and was well respected by his players and other coaches. He coached at every level throughout Taylorsville Baseball, from little league on up to High School, coaching his own sons and grandsons at various points during his coaching career. Tom was proud of the lessons he taught his players and his influence on those young men went beyond the baseball field. He worked hard and took great pride in not only trying to make them great ball players, but in also helping to mold them into becoming great men, husbands, and fathers. When he wasn’t coaching baseball, you could find him watching his beloved New York Yankees or BYU Cougars.

Tom was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. His love for his family and baseball was only surpassed by his love for his Savior, Jesus Christ. Tom was a stalwart man of faith and had an unshakable testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Along with his mission to Mexico, he and his second wife, Julie, served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Tom loved the Gospel and loved being a missionary and sharing its joy and eternal happiness with others.

Of all his accomplishments in life, he was most proud of his family. He was a loving and faithful husband, father,
grandfather, and great-grandfather. His family brought much pride and joy to his life and he was never afraid to tell you how much he loved you or how proud he was of you. In his final days, he often would say how blessed he was to have the family he did. He loved each of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren with a deep and undying love. He was proud of each of them and their individual achievements. He always made time to support his children and grand-children in their varying endeavors, always trying to attend their sporting events, music and dance recitals, school programs, etc. He regarded his family as his greatest accomplishment. It brought him such peace and joy, the legacy he knew he was leaving behind in them. His love for his family was equally reciprocated. We are heartbroken by his loss and will feel that void in our lives forever. We are grateful for the knowledge that we have that this life is not the end and look forward to the day when we will see him again and be able to say to him, “Hey Dad, you wanna have a catch?”

Tom is survived by his loving wife, Julie, his children Jeffrey (Shauna) Arnold, Troy (Jessie) Arnold, Shannon (Kase) Peery, Elisa (Ryan) Winward, Scott (Mindy) Arnold, 23 grandchildren, 2 great-grand daughters, and his sisters Pam and Kelly Arnold. He was proceeded in death by his Forever Sweetheart, Lollie, his mother, father, brother John, sister Carol, and grand-daughter, Maddisyn Arnold.

A viewing will be held on Thursday, October 29, from 6:00-8:00 PM. An additional viewing for family only, will be held on Friday October 30, from 8:45-9:15 AM, with the funeral to follow at 9:30 AM. The viewing and funeral service will occur at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints chapel, located at 5775 South 2700 West. Internment service will follow at 11:30 AM. Tom will be interred at the West Jordan City Cemetery, 7800 South 1300 West, West Jordan, Utah. Condolences may be offered to the family online at www.larkinmortuary.com.

Due to current COVID-19 mandates, all viewing and funeral attendees will be required to wear a mask and practice proper social distancing. The funeral services will be limited to 150 attendees. A link for anyone who would like to attend virtually is listed below:

http://mywebcast.churchofjesuschrist.org/events/bennionutahstake