Sidney Vincent Arbour

Sidney Vincent Arbour Jr., 97, died peacefully in Baton Rouge on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011. He was born Jan. 7, 1914, in Baton Rouge. Mr. Arbour attended Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, and was a graduate of St. Stanislaus College in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and LSU. Except for his military service, he was a lifelong resident of Baton Rouge. Mr. Arbour was a World War II veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy as a gunnery officer in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. In the Atlantic Theater, his ships transported fuel to the African and European continents, and in the Pacific Theater, he was on ships present at Iwo Jima and the occupation of Japan. After the war, Mr. Arbour worked for 20 years in the research lab at the Standard Oil Co. Baton Rouge refinery, followed by a career as the head of the inspection and appraisal department of Union Federal Savings&Loan Association, until his retirement. Mr. Arbour held both the MAI and SRA designations from the Appraisal Institute. He loved houses, their architecture and everything about building them. He built several during his life, including his beautiful home on Ramsey Drive where he resided for the past 47 years. He could hardly pass a house under construction without stopping in and inspecting it. He possessed a keen memory and many will long remember his stories of Huey Long, old Baton Rouge and his war experiences. Mr. Arbour was a committed volunteer for his Catholic faith and the Baton Rouge community. He served Our Lady of the Lake Hospital and the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady for many years and in many capacities, including service as chairman of the building committee during the planning and construction of the new hospital building on Hennessey Boulevard, chairman of the board of directors of the hospital and the Ollie Steele Burden Manor Nursing Home, and a member of each of those boards for many years. In addition, he was the appraiser of record on the sale of the original hospital building to the state of Louisiana. More recently, Mr. Arbour was instrumental in assisting the hospital in assembling a large tract of land necessary for its expansion at its present location. Mr. Arbour was a registered member of both St. Aloysius parish and St. Joseph Cathedral. He was appointed to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem by Bishop Stanley Ott, held the rank of knight grand cross, and was awarded the Order's Pilgrim's Jerusalem Shell by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. He was a lifelong supporter of St. Stanislaus, Catholic High School and St. Joseph's Academy and, together with his wife, Ann, was honored by the SJA Foundation of St. Joseph's Academy for many years of outstanding community service. Mr. Arbour also served as president of the Lakeshore Lions Club, commander of the Lt. Gen. Troy Middleton Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars, and was a longtime member of the board of directors of Bahlinger Inc. and Kornmeyer Furniture Co. "Gumps," as he was lovingly known to his family, is survived by three sons and daughters-in-law, Peter Wilbert and Alice Ford Arbour, of Houston, Sidney Vincent III and Kathryn Acree Arbour, of Mobile, Ala., and James Gerard and Candyce Hiter Arbour, of Magden, Switzerland; three daughters and sons-in-law, Julia Maria and Kevin Patrick McClanahan, and Mary Grace and Albert Raymond Miller, all of Atlanta, and Ann Frances and Peter Michael Olyniec, of Katy, Texas; grandchildren and their spouses, Brian Kearney Arbour and Erin Ackerman, of Union City, N.J., Megan Arbour Long and Dr. Wesley Long, of Houston, Blake Patrick Arbour, of Baton Rouge, Kevin Patrick McClanahan Jr. and Nicole McClanahan, of Petaluma, Calif., Flynn Patrick McClanahan and Meghan Mikulak, Molly McClanahan Welch and Andrew Welch, Thomas Alexander Dechman III and Lorinda Norton Dechman, Alexandra Miller Cornwell, and Caitlin Grace Miller, all of Atlanta, Sophie Olyniec Magness and Dr. Marc Magness, of Houston, Sidney Vincent Arbour IV and Marissa Jennings Arbour, of Atlanta, Joseph O'Neal Arbour and Jonathan Bryant Arbour, both of Mobile, Benjamin Hiter Arbour and Margaret Anderson Arbour, of Fort Worth, and James Andrew Arbour, of Freiburg, Germany; 14 great grandchildren; sisters, Sister Jane Louise Arbour, C.S.J., Eloise Arbour Selig and husband Roland, and Virginia Arbour Tomeny, all of Baton Rouge, and a host of nieces and nephews, including Kitty Arbour LeBlanc who contributed so much to Dad's last years. He was preceded in death by his loving wife of nearly 60 years, Ann Bryant Wilbert Arbour; parents, Sidney Vincent Arbour Sr. and Julia May Bahlinger Arbour; two brothers, J.B. Arbour and Robert Frederick Arbour; and two sisters, Gertie Lee Arbour McNeely and Katherine Arbour Hannaman. The family wishes to thank his dedicated and loyal housekeepers, Dorothy Washington and Shirley Collins. Visitation will be held at Rabenhorst Funeral Home 825 Government St., on Thursday, Feb. 17, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Visitation at St. Joseph Cathedral on Friday from 9 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Interment in Roselawn Memorial Park. Memorials may be made to Catholic High School, 855 Hearthstone Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, St. Joseph's Academy, 3080 Kleinert Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70806 or Our Lady of the Lake Foundation, 5000 Hennessey Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70808.