Gerry passed away peacefully on November 2, 2024 after a brief battle with cancer at age 83. Gerry lived his entire life in the community of Bedford. He is survived by his loving wife Lois Rachel Arnold (Hale), son Paul Arnold, and daughter Cheryl Arnold, stepson Lewis “Hal” Jessome (Heather), 9 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, sisters Gail Verge and Darlene Osbourne (Gary), and close friend Phil McDonald.
He is predeceased by parents Lewis Arnold and Ellen Helfler(Arnold, nee Langille), stepfather Ernest Hefler, sister Freda Halfyard and husband Kenneth, brother Kenneth Arnold, brother-in-law David Verge, and stepson Trevor Jessome.
Gerry was a proud member of Plumbers and Pipefitters local 56. He spent his career designing the infrastructure of several key buildings in HRM.
Gerry was an avid sportsman, enjoying baseball, golf, bowling, and fishing. He was an exceptional hockey player, starring with the Bedford Barons of the Suburban Hockey League from 1958 until the mid 1970s. He won several scoring titles and multiple MVP awards. A testament to his sportsmanship, Gerry won the award for Most Gentlemanly Player numerous times, including three years in a row.
He later played on a team that won back-to-back World Oldtimers Championships; the first in the old Montreal Forum. The team defended the title the following year in Europe.
Gerry founded the Bedford Gentleman’s Hockey League before recreational hockey was common. The league brought hundreds of players together and enabled thousands of close friendships over the decades. He was fortunate to play hockey into his mid 70s.
Gerry camped and hunted in the Cobequid Mountains for 50 years, harvesting Moose and Deer. He loved to walk in those mature forests, scaling the deep ravines and basking on sunny plateaus. Even in his 80s, he spent most of November camping and hunting his favourite places on the mountain.
The family is hosting a celebration of a life well-lived at Sackville Legion on Friday November 22 from 1-4 PM.
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