John Arkwright

John Arkwright, a Well-Known Area Educator, dies at 86.John L. (Jack) Arkwright passed away unexpectedly, at home in Corpus Christi, Texas on April 10, 2007.His family announced his death. Mr. Arkwright was born in Buffalo Center, Iowa on September 1, 1920. In high school he was an avid and accomplished basketball and football player, and a collector of stamps and autographs. He married Irene Lewis on January 31, 1943 at the Randolph Field Chapel in San Antonio, Texas.During World War II, Mr. Arkwright served as a flight instructor at Randolph Field in San Antonio and after war in the Martin A-26 Invader ("Widowmaker") in Japan. In the Korean War, he served at Fort Benjamin Harrison near Indianapolis. Mr. Arkwright retired from the Military as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.Mr. Arkwright earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos, Texas. His first job, in 1949, was a Principal of Mason High School in Mason, Texas, where he served as Assistant Coach for the football team and as Head Coach of the girls' basketball team. In 1955, he accepted the Principal position as DuBose Junior High School in Alice, Texas. In 1959, he was promoted to Principal of William Adams High School in Alice. In 1963, he joined the Corpus Christi Independent School District and served for many years as a principal of Hamlin Junior High School, where he served until he retired in 1982. Mr. Arkwright participated over many years in organizations such as Quarterback Clubs, Kiwanis, Alhambra and Knights of Columbus. In Mason, a town renowned for its tennis culture, he and a fellow teacher built the town's first tennis courts during a weekend in the mid-1950s.In his Principal's role in Alice, Mr. Arkwright advised a gifted African American high school student who won a National Merit Scholarship. Mr. Arkwright arranged the student's matriculation at Rice University in 1961 as that school's first African American student. Accompanying this scholar during the enrollment process, Mr. Arkwright prompted the quite integration of Rice University at a time when other academic communities suffered turmoil. Mr. Arkwright was a sometime landscape painter in retirement, working in oils. Enjoying good health until his sudden demise, Mr. Arkwright played golf almost daily at Pharoh's Country Club in Corpus Christi during his retirement. He was noted in local golfing circles for shooting his age or better several times a month. Mr. Arkwright and his wife played golf and tennis together and rode bicycles regularly during most of their married lives. They loved to travel.Survivors are his wife, Irene Lewis Arkwright; his brother, Richard Thomas (Dick) Arkwright in Corpus Christi, Texas; his three children: Dr. Thomas Dennis (Tom) Arkwright in Half Moon Bay, California, Patricia Ann (Patty) Soule in Austin, Texas and Nancy Ruth (Nan) Arkwright in Walnut Creek, California; his grandchildren: Lauri Soule, RN, PNP, Cullowhee, North Carolina, Ted Soule, in Austin, Texas, Ryan Sweeney, in Walnut Creek, and Melissa Sweeney, in Walnut Creek; and his great-grandchild, Hunter Botner, Cullowhee.Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, April 13, 2007 at Saint Pius X Catholic Church. Burial services are scheduled for the next day at Fort Sam Houston, near San Antonio. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice.