JOHN ARNOLD

ARNOLD--John Bentley, died at age 87 in his home in San Francisco where he had been residing since 1980. Jack was born in Quincy, IL in 1922. He attended Phillips Academy Andover, graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and immediately joined the Navy as one of its early radar experts. He served on the Aircraft Carrier USS Hancock, finally leaving the ship, as a Lt. Commander, after it was disabled by kamikaze pilots on Okinawa. After the war Jack graduated from Harvard Business School. He served for 30 years with General Telephone and Electronics. As President of GTE International he was responsible for an organization with 35,000 employees throughout the world. During his presidency GTE International sales grew from $500 million to $1.3 billion. He was the architect and mediator of a number of important multinational consortiums that completed telecommunication projects all over the world. He worked with countless nationalities and religions. He lived in Italy for 25 years, was in Tehran the day the Shah took power from Mossadegh, and was there again the day the Shah was deposed by Khomeini. Jack worked in partnership with members of the Israeli, Egyptian, Algerian and, Indian government, to mention a few, and formed enduring bonds of friendship based on mutual trust and respect. His encyclopedic knowledge of history, his keen and sensitive curiosity of other cultures and religions and his open, sensitive and dependable nature fostered a deep trust that allowed very difficult international partnerships to flourish. He worked as consultant with Comsat in Washington, DC for two years; and, in 1980 came to California as President of Farinon Electric Company, later sold to Harris Corporation of Florida. He was subsequently appointed to various Boards of Directors in California and served as interim president of Equipment Technology. He was a devout Catholic and a great supporter of Catholic Charities. In San Francisco, he was active with the Rose Resnik Center for the Blind and served on its Board of Directors. He is survived by his wife Ann to whom he was married for 57 years, by his sons Peter and Stephen Arnold, and his daughter Susan Arnold-Aldea, his son-in-law Gabriel Aldea, and two grandsons, Alexander and Daniel Aldea all of whom will always be guided by his wisdom and generosity.