Arthur "Art" Gomez

Arthur (Art) Gomez, 75, of Jacksonville, North Carolina, passed away peacefully at his home on Monday, August 5, 2024, with his wife, Louise, and daughter, Ellanie, by his side, after a courageous fight with dementia.
Arthur was born on October 24, 1948, in Fort Ord, California to Maria and Arthur Gomez, the oldest of many siblings, and grew up in Seaside, California. After Art graduated from high school, he attended Monterey Peninsula College, then enlisted in the United States Marine Corp in 1969. He completed Officer Candidate School in 1970, and proudly served his country as an infantry and logistics officer for over 28 years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in May 1998. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Redlands, and a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the Naval Postgraduate School. After retiring, he worked at Pragmatics, Inc. starting as a project manager, and retiring eighteen years later as a Vice President & Deputy General Manager. Art was hard-working and dedicated, both on active duty as well as during his civilian years, an adept problem-solver who always "took care of his people."
In 1970, he met the love of his life, Louise Harocop, in Redlands. They were soon married, and recently celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary. Art and Louise went on to have four children – Arthur Gomez (wife, Lucy) of Dumfries, Virginia, Louisa Thollander (husband, Joel) of Austin, Texas, Ellanie Young (husband, Brian) of Jacksonville, North Carolina and Bobby Gomez (wife, Maura) of Woodbridge, Virginia. Art was passionate about family, and loved being a grandpa, always happy to spend time and pour out affection (and treats) on his eleven grandchildren – Jacob, Joshua, Benjamin, Christopher, Sophia, Victoria, Blakely, Genavieve, Vivian, Eliana, and Juliette.
Art was a gifted amateur photographer, stamp collector of British Penny Reds, enjoyed strategy games and science fiction novels, bowled on many leagues with Louise, and loved to travel. It was important to him to make memories with his kids on epic road trips, traveling from coast to coast as his duty stations changed. He made the most of the three years he was stationed outside of Stuttgart, Germany, taking the family to many places throughout Europe. And he most loved to travel with Louise, on short and long vacations, to see the sites and wonders of this world. Among his favorite things to do was walk, hand-in-hand, down any beach with Louise.
Far beyond his interests and hobbies, Art was a man of integrity, guided by principles of duty, faith, and family. He was a protector, provider, and one who cared deeply about doing the right thing. His generosity and love flowed easily from family to friends to all those who entered his circle. Art's all-encompassing generosity was experienced by many, as he simply explained, "Well of course, you're part of the family."
Art was predeceased by his mother, Maria Covington, his father, Arthur Gomez, stepfather, Elmo Rutledge, his brother, Mark Rutledge, and his sisters, Donna Yokogawa, Tammy Rutledge, and Pamela Castro-Humar. He is survived by his wife and children, as well as his brothers Bill Gomez and Chris Rutledge, sister, Linda Garcia, and many nieces and nephews.
A visitation will be held at Jones Funeral Home on Monday, August 12th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. The funeral service will be at the Jones Funeral Home Chapel on Tuesday, August 13th at 10:30am with interment to follow at Coastal Carolina State Veterans Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church, PO Box 1396, Richlands, NC 28574.