Jeanie Madge Arnel

Jeanie Madge Arnel

February 24, 1929 - September 19, 2025

Jeanie Madge Arnel (née Dreyfus) passed away peacefully on Friday, September 19 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Born in Paris, France to the late Michel L. Dreyfus, a Swiss citizen, and Fritzi Dreyfus (née Weinberg) born in New York City. In 1939, at ten years of age, accompanied by her mother, she arrived at New York Harbor. Jeanie stayed with relatives while her parents prepared for their move from France to New York to join her. They settled in Scarsdale, New York for a few years before moving to Manhattan's Upper East Side, where Jeanie lived until her marriage. She attended the Birch Wathen School before graduating from Centenary Junior College, with a degree in Art.

On July 27, 1952, Jeanie married Robert Alan Arnel of Lawrence, New York. They settled in Woodmere, New York. They soon started a family with the birth of their first daughter in late May 1953, followed by a second daughter, born June 1954. Their third child, a son, was born eight and a half years later in December 1962. Jeanie and Bob were married for forty-one years prior to his death in June 1993.

Jeanie's talent for listening and her desire to help others endeared her to countless people and ultimately led to what turned out to be her dream job. Her work as secretary for the local League of Women Voters to her remarkable volunteer work at the Peninsula Counseling Center helping older adults remain independent for as long as possible, lead to a paid position as a geriatric social worker. She remained at the Peninsula Counseling Center until the family moved to Chapel Hill, NC in 1977, a town Robert had fallen in love with while attending the University of North Carolina. In 1979, she was hired as Director of Meals on Wheels Orange County NC and served for twenty-nine years until her retirement. She was known for her commitment, competence, compassion, easy nature, and kindness. Several lasting friendships began at Meals on Wheels.

She stayed active in her community picking up trash on her daily neighborhood walks, writing letters to the editor, visiting people in need (outside her work at Meals on Wheels), and inviting people with no place to go to share Thanksgiving dinners. Having discovered Christian Science in her youth, she remained an active member of her church for the rest of her life.

A gifted and prolific painter, her oil paintings hang in the homes of friends, children, grandchildren, and other relatives. Jeanie was humble. Her joy came from the experience of artistic creation and in sharing the results with her loved ones and with her communities. And that was enough.

Jeanie is survived by her daughters, Jill Arnel (Portland, OR), Meg Rudansky (Sag Harbor, NY), and her son, Thomas Arnel (Carrboro, NC); grandchildren, Alan Martinson (Baltimore, MD), Noah Martinson (Durham, NC), Alison Rudansky (Sag Harbor, NY), Andrew Rudansky (Speonk, NY), and seven great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, you can make a donation in her name to the Interfaith Council https://www.ifcweb.orgTable NC https://tablenc.org, or Meals on Wheels https://www.mowocnc.org