Arnold Fletcher

Arnold Fletcher of Newtown Square Arnold Fletcher, former professor of music and dean of faculty at West Chester State College (now University), died June 12, 2015 at his home in White Horse Village, Newtown Square, Pa. He was 97. An accomplished pianist, Mr. Fletcher joined the music faculty at West Chester State Teachers College in 1946, and throughout the 1960’s served as Dean of Academic Affairs. He and his beloved wife, Toni, were also founding board members of the West Chester Adult Night School. Mr. Fletcher also enjoyed a distinguished ten-year-career as the first vice president of Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey. During WWII, Warrant Officer, JG, and band leader Fletcher served with the 11th Armored Division, earned a Bronze Start at the “Battle of the Bulge”, and took part in the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz, Austria. “It was a sight”, he told his family, “I’ll never forget.” The Fletchers retired to White Horse Village in 1991, where Mr. Fletcher served on the President’s council, founded the community’s popular Performing Arts Program, and gave numerous piano recitals. A longtime member of Birmingham Friends Meeting in West Chester, Mr. Fletcher is survived by his second wife, Mary Girling Fletcher; his daughter, Patrice Fletcher of Chicago, Ill.; his son, Kenneth Fletcher of Independence, Ore.; and a niece, Dee Krauss, of Huntington Beach, Calif. Meeting for Worship for Mr. Fletcher will be held at 10 a.m. on Sat., August 15 at Birmingham Friends Meeting, 1245 S. Birmingham Rd., West Chester. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are graciously being accepted by the WCU Foundation in support of the Dr. Arnold Fletcher Music Award. Please make checks payable to “WCU Foundation”, Memo: Dr. Arnold Fletcher Music Award, and mail to PO Box 541, West Chester, PA 19381.