Rachael Olene Arnold

Rachael grew up in a poor family with only a Sears catalogue, some story books (which she thoroughly enjoyed looking at and dreaming of a better life), and at least 1 Bible. Her mother would read to her and her siblings the Bible and it would fill her with hope. She worried about her sins at an early age, having memorized John 1:9, " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.". The only church service she remembered from Mississippi was a Christmas one and she remembered Santa Claus coming down the aisle, giving out candy canes. Rachael had always enjoyed going to church and gave some credit to Santa Claus and the candy cane. She remembered fondly the big lake and lovely water lilies and path that led to her Nixon grandparents home. Her grandfather had built the home and to her it was beautiful. They had a gray car with comfortable seats, where her grandmother liked to read her mail sitting in their car away from all the construction noise in the house. She vaguely remembered her Jackson grandparents. She remembered her grandmother Jackson having long gray hair, which she enjoyed brushing and styling to her liking.

Every child has their own unique story. While hers was not unique in Mississippi, it certainly was in California. One weekend, she recalled it being a weekend day because her father was with her family, they walked along by the lake covered with huge beautiful water lilies. Her brother was ahead of her sister and herself with their parents behind them. She remembered a lot of commotion, her mother was screaming as her father came charging behind them as a huge ugly snake came slapping in the water. Her father frightened the snake away by stamping his feet. He had such large feet that the snake probably thought the world was coming to an end. During all this commotion, Rachael was unaware of the danger she was in. Upon arrival to her grandparents house, there was much discussion about water moccasins and that she had walked over one!

On another occasion, she remembered her grandmother asking her sister and her if they would like to spend the night at their house. They said "Yes.". As her parents were walking away, Rachael began to wail. Naturally, everyone turned and looked at her. When asked what is the matter, she wailed, "My foot hurts! I think I should go home.". So her sister enjoyed remaining with their grandparents and Rachael had returned home with her parents.

In 1946, her father came home one day with an almost new car. She vaguely remembered her mother packing. She liked the activity of packing, but realized later that her help probably slowed her mother down and that's why she allowed them to play more outside. Her Nixon grandparents preceded them to Sacramento, where her 2 aunts were living. Somehow they managed to get a lot out in the country and built another house. They then moved to Sacramento. Her father was unable to get a job in Sacramento, so he went to San Francisco for employment.

From Sacramento, they moved to El Sobrante and enjoyed living there until she was in the 8th grade. Shortly after moving to El Sobrante, the big packing crate arrived and she was still so sad that her hard headed (her head was made of wood) doll, Sugar Plum, was not in the crate. From there, they moved a short distance to Montalvin Manor and from there to their Hillcrest House. Now about those neighbors in El Sobrante, Mr. Popolton greeted them upon their arrival, found out where they were from and brought them Army cots, which Leslie and Rachael loved. The Radcliffes lived next door to them and their child Gay Radcliffe was Leslie's age (Leslie and Gay became fast friends). On the other side lived The Ingrams. They had 2 young boys who rode around on tricycles, drinking Coke right out of the bottle and took long naps in the afternoon. They moved and Rachael doesn't remember the people who bought the house unfortunately. Resuming, across the street were the Klinkhammers, an older couple with grandchildren their ages. They spent each summer with their grandparents, and yes, Mr. Klinkhammer was a carpenter! They all had a wonderful time growing up. They went to school on a school bus driven by Mr. Millani that took them to Pinole Hercules School, built right on top of a hill. It looked like the Alamo to Rachael. The road to the top wound around the hill and she was always afraid that they would not make it. She didn't know which she dreaded more - riding the bus up the hill or climbing up the little slippery footpath. Sometimes Mr. Millani would let them off at the bottom and sometimes he would drive up to the top, shifting to different gears which made such loud noises.

When Rachael was 7 or 8, her mother got a job at J.C. Penney Company. Her mother rode the bus to work and made the acquaintance of Mrs. Casebolt, who became a wonderful friend to Rachael's mother. She introduced them to the Evangelical Free Church. There were more friends and there they really grew up, even getting baptised. Her father became friends with Mr. Casebolt. While Mr. Casebolt's vocation is a little hazy, he was an amateur radio fan. When his daughter and her husband went to Africa as missionaries, he was in contact with them. Mr. and Mrs. Casebolt's son, Allan, was the youth director at the Evangelical Free Church when Rachael and her siblings were teenagers. Eventually Allan went on to become a medical doctor.

Their grandparents moved from Sacramento to El Sobrante. However, Richmond was the main town. Places like Rollingwood, El Sobrante, and San Pablo were surrounding neighborhoods. They enjoyed spending the night or a few days at her grandparents house. Sometimes their Uncle Jack would come home from San Jose, where he had a job and was attending San Jose State College. Uncle Jack brought everyone presents when he came home and her grandmother woulds prepare lots of food. Aunt Ann married Ray Harmon, a very talented man, in Sacramento. One year, he made them doll furniture for Christmas. At the time, she did not know how long this project must have taken and also believed they had lived in Fresno at the time. Rachael's mother and her next door neighbor, Mrs. Radcliffe, made new clothes for Leslie, Gay, and Rachael's dolls.

Rachel's family moved again when she was in 8th grade to Montalvin Manor for a bigger house with 4 bedrooms. They went to a new school, which combined Jr. High and High School together, in El Sobrante. Rachael and her siblings either took the bus or their mother took them. At that time, her mother was working in the office of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, where her father was painting.

When Rachael was in the 11th grade, she met her first boyfriend. He was older than she was and a student at the University of California Berkeley. When Rachael was a senior in high school, her boyfriend had graduated and moved back East to attend Cornell University and to also accept a job offer. Rachael went to Contra Costa Jr. College as a business major and so did her best girlfriend and her brother, who was Rachael's age. Rachael and him got along famously and laughed their way through with a group of friends. Her best girlfriend was a year older and when she graduated before them, she got a job at an insurance company. Her girlfriend saved her money so she could attend a private university. Rachael got a job at the Jr. College in the Physical Education Department. They were very nice to her and very pleased with her work that they wanted her to work as much as she could, whenever she could. When Rachael and her friends graduated from there, they all went to Biola University in Los Angeles. Rachael recalled it being very expensive and a good learning experience about being away from home. She realized that she should do what her girlfriend's brother was going to do and go to Hayward State. So the next year, he and Rachael enrolled at Hayward. Upon her return to home, she was very fortunate to get a job at Jacuzzi Pump Company, where her uncle had worked while he was attending University of California Berkeley. They were kind and let her choose her hours based around her class schedule. She first worked in the Credit Department and then moved to another department doing odd jobs. The oddest job, she recalled, was sitting by the Company President and handing him checks to be signed. Rachael's boss, Mr. Ansani, knew she needed money and would often have her come in on Saturdays to help him sort and deliver the Saturday mail to all of the departments. There was only 1 job he asked her to do that she did not like and that was to take his car and go to the bank. Rachael preferred her little white Falcon with red interior, that was given to her by her father, to Mr. Ansani's big expensive car. Please excuse Rachael as she needs to water some plants outside and take Windsor, her Alaskan Malamute, out for a break. She will continue shortly. Apologies, Rachael also needed to unload her dishwasher and have her lunch break. She comes back and resumes.

It's time we mention a new friend, she starts. She doesn't recall how, but at Hayward State, she met the daughter of one of her business teachers from High School. This new friend and Rachael commuted together and Rachael recalls her being a riot, while describing herself as naïve. They had hilarious conversations. One morning, she said in her high pitched voice, "You know Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)?" and Rachael, assuming that they were having another one of their art discussions, said, "No. What kind of clay is that?". After laughing at Rachael for several seconds, which Rachael recalled it feeling like hours, she told her that he was some sort of boxer or wrestler. Although her friend treated her as an inferior person, Rachael knew she liked her but didn't quite know it at the time. Her father thought very highly of Rachael and Rachael believed that it had offended her. Anyways, they had several classes together and one day one of their instructors told her that she didn't dress appropriately. That she needed to do something with her long blonde hair that flew all around her in an unkempt manner. Rachael ventured into telling her during their lunch break that she should alternate her dress between 3 of her best outfits. She also asked her if she could style her hair for her each morning. Grudgingly, her friend accepted her offer for it meant that they would have to begin their commute (which freeway traffic was terrible) earlier. Rachael believed that their instructor was amazed with her friend's transformation. Rachael took a night class so that she still had some free time to work at Jacuzzi Pump Company. On those days, her friend would remain on campus and Rachael went back and forth. She would wait for her in an empty classroom or stay put in the cafeteria. One evening, while Rachael was in class, her friend got stuck in the elevator. She was sitting near a window and thought she was imagining her friend's singsong voice calling her. The Professor stopped talking and said in a pained voice, "Go see what the matter is with her.". She was stuck in an elevator! Rachael doesn't remember how she got her out. She thinks it was the custodian, but isn't sure. Rachael remained in touch with her for several years and then suddenly, no more letters. They shared many laughs together and she will always remember her and her unique personality.

Finally, Rachael's student teaching began. She had a wonderful master teacher who was Russian. She was very firm and very frank. She taught her how to be organized, firm yet friendly, and how to follow the curriculum. She invited Rachael to dinner at her house, where her mother had just come over from Russia. The dinners were wonderful. Her master teacher would say to her, "My mother likes you better than my other friends and wants me to invite you over for dinner." While those might not have been her exact words, they are close enough. She had several loud Doberman Pinschers who behaved terribly. That surprised Rachael as it was evident that her master teacher left her teaching skills at school. While student teaching, Rachael had an interview with Richmond Unified School District. When she drove back to the school where she was student teaching, the principal, her master teacher, and some of the other teachers were all watching, waving, and clapping for her in the parking lot. Once she parked, they told her to drive back to Richmond as she got the position! And so she began to teach Kindergarten in January, the middle of the school year, at 2 different schools. She taught the morning and afternoon sessions. She remarked how amazing the way the Lord works things out because she was planning that if she got that job, that she would go with all of her friends who were already teaching in Europe. More amazingly, some teachers at the school where she taught the morning class were going on the same exact tour, including one of the principals who interviewed her. Her tour that summer was all and more than she could've ever imagined it would be. Lots of fun and new friends. Rachael doesn't give more, but says that they had laughed their way through Europe.

In the spring of her second year of teaching, 1966 to be exact, she came home one day and went straight to her bedroom and looked up dancing instructors. She chose one because of the location, an elite section of Berkeley, dialed the number and scheduled her to take lessons and learn to dance. This was very bold for her, Rachael remarked, and she can't explain why she was so determined to learn. Perhaps it was from her time in Europe, where she learned how important dancing is to European Culture.

Rachael enjoyed the lessons and liked her dance teacher very much. In March, she had asked her if she would like to go to The Palace Hotel with her and some other students to a dancing exposition. Rachael said yes and then conferred with her sister, an accomplished seamstress, about what to wear. She ended up wearing a blue brocade dress that her sister had just made for herself to wear to one of her affairs. It was already "old" to her sister, but new to her. Her hair behaved that evening, even though it was misty out. Rachael looked her best and was very happy, not nervous at all. Her dance instructor had invited 4 of them and they all went together in the teacher's car. She enjoyed listening to everyone talk while they were driving to San Francisco, deciding that she really liked the well dressed conversationalist with red hair named Bob. Later, she learned that he had bought a very expensive suit from one of Berkeley's best shops just for this occasion. On their way they passed a huge sign about getting a car tune up job. Someone had mentioned the clever car tune sign and Bob said, " Oh I like cartoons.". Eventually they arrived and were shown to their seats. The girl sitting next to Bob got up to refresh herself before the show began and Rachael hopped up and sat down next to Bob because he was way more interesting than the fellow she was originally sitting next to. Rachael thought that this was a fair exchange since she seemed more interested in the fellow sitting next to Rachael anyways. During the evening, Rachael got to know Bob very well and thought that he liked her. So when they returned back to the dance instructor's home, she was disappointed when another man walked her to her car as Bob stomped off. However, the next morning, her spirits and enthusiasm about meeting Bob were still high. Her mother and sister were not home and Rachael needed to talk to someone, anyone. So she called her grandmother and couldn't believe the words coming right out of her mouth that were sent by her heart. Rachael told her grandmother all about her evening and that she had met the man she was going to marry!

The next week, a friend had invited her to go hit golf balls at a driving range and then to dinner at their house that Friday. Another teacher and her husband were invited and they had invited a friend of theirs who went to their church, a nice guy from Hawai'i. Meanwhile, during the week, Bob went to his dancing lessons. While his instructor went upstairs for a few minutes, Bob looked in her appointment book to see if he could find Rachael's phone number. But no luck, he couldn't find it. When his instructor returned, he asked her for Rachael's number. The next day, he called Rachael in the late afternoon to ask her out that Friday evening (the same day she was to go shoot golf balls). She said," No, I can't this Friday." and held her breath hoping that he would ask her for Saturday evening instead. He did ask her out for that Saturday evening. After a brief courtship, they became engaged. Rachael remembered showing everyone at the University of California, during her summer school art class, her engagement ring. They had met in March and were married in Lake Tahoe by July 15. They lived in a small, quaint apartment in Fresno, where Bob was teaching summer school. Bob's parents had them to dinner every night for the rest of that summer.

In September, they went back to Berkeley where they lived in an apartment. Bob was finishing his degree and she was teaching in the City of Richmond. Rachael enjoyed her time teaching. She remarked having wonderful principals and made friends with many other teachers at both schools she taught at. Her only difficulty with teaching was catching several colds and then developing tonsillitis, swollen glands, fevers, etc. Rachael had lost weight and finally had a tonsillectomy in the spring, her first surgery. While Rachael was in the hospital, Bob packed and moved them to her parent's home.

Bob had finished his courses at the University of California Berkeley and was offered a position in the Math Department at California State University Fresno. Rachael had interviews and received a teaching offer at Easterby School in Fresno. It was with great sadness and excitement that she finished her teaching in Richmond. Her and Bob had bought a brand new house here in Fresno, where Bob's parents watched its construction. Bob's mother wrote progress report letters and his father ensured that it was being built correctly. Bob and Rachael enjoyed living together in that house on North Jackson here in Fresno.

Rachael is survived by her husband Robert Arnold of Fresno, CA; son Craig Arnold and his wife Beverly and children Adelina, Theodore and Roderick all of Morro Bay; her sister Leslie Jackson of San Pablo, CA; niece Braughnwynn Brown of Richmond, CA; nephew Douglas Jackson of Chicago, IL and niece Peggy Tarwate of Oregon.

A Graveside Service for Rachael will be held Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at Redbank Cemetery, 11548 East Shaw Avenue, Clovis, California 93619.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.boicefuneralhome.com for the Arnold family.