Eugene G. Arnold

EUGENE G. ARNOLD
ITHACA - Eugene G. Arnold, 69, of Ithaca, died on December 7, 2007 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, NY. Eugene was born on January 5, 1938 in Canandaigua, NY to Elinor and Henry Arnold. He grew up on a farm in Rushville, NY.
Gene dedicated his life's work to the health care industry starting as the director of admissions at Syracuse Memorial Hospital from 1961-1962. He then earned his MBA from Cornell University in 1966. After earning his MBA, he started as the Assistant Administrator of Tompkins County Hospital and became Administrator in 1968. He was the driving force behind the building of the new hospital (now known as Cayuga Medical Center) and took great pride in bringing a state of the art facility to the Ithaca area. When he left the hospital in 1979, he worked in the regional office for the New York State Health Department.
In 1980, he traveled to Doha, Qatar to assist in building a new hospital for three years. He then worked as the Administrator of Middlesex County Hospital in Waltham, MA. He returned to the Middle East to serve as the Administrator of a hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Once he "retired" from active administration, he continued to recruit health care professionals to work in the Middle East.
Aside from his career, he also had a very active life. He greatly enjoyed spending time with his family, traveling and learning about new places and cultures, working with his hands; especially wood-working, attending Cornell hockey games and spending time with his Old English Sheepdogs. His family benefited from his adventurous spirit and urge to travel. He will be greatly missed.
He was a member of many service organizations including the Rotary Club, The City Club, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Board of Directors of Central NY, Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Administrators, and the Cornell Alumni Association of the Ithaca area.
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Lorraine Arnold of Ithaca; his daughter, Kathryn Arnold of Ithaca; his son, Jason Arnold (Kimberly) of St. Louis; his granddaughter, Cecilia Arnold of St. Louis; his sister, Lorraine Meyers (Red) of Canandaigua; his sister, E. Deborah Paul (J. Stephen) of West Monroe, NY; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents; and his brother, George H. Arnold.
A celebration of Gene's life will be held 11 a.m. on January 5th, 2008 at St. John's Episcopal Church, 210 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Eugene G. Arnold may be sent to the Cornell Alumni Association of the Ithaca Area, Arlene Sadd Scholarship Fund. Checks should be made payable to Cornell University and sent to: Holly Heitzman, 130 E. Seneca St., Ithaca, NY 14850.