Arnold enjoyed a long and decorated career of public service to the United States of America. He served honorably in the United States Air Force for 25 years, including serving two tours in Vietnam. He followed his first retirement with 20 more years as a Diplomat with the Foreign Service in the US State Department. One of his first tours of duty included serving in Sevilla, Spain, where he met the love of his life and best friend, Luisa Martin Olivo. They married on May 4, 1958.
Other tours included Mountain Home, Idaho; Homestead, Florida; Abilene, Texas; Crete, Greece; Redwood City, California; Manila, Philippines; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Madrid, Spain; Goldsboro, North Carolina; Cairo, Egypt; Brussels, Belgium; Quito, Ecuador (2x); Rome, Italy; Conakry, Guinea; and Tijuana, Mexico. His passion for travel afforded Arnold and Luisa the opportunity to visit many more countries, too numerous to mention.
He was a lifelong fan of baseball, boxing, football, and soccer, and would root for any team from Texas, especially the Rangers, Astros, and Cowboys…and sometimes the Padres. He was an expert in telecommunications and loved tinkering with computers, short wave radios, and telephone systems.
Arnold is survived by his wife Luisa; his children Marisa M. Watkins (Charles), Gisella N. Olivo (Willis H. Mitchell III), Frederick M. Olivo (Pamela), Richard A. Olivo (Sharon), and Carlos L. Olivo (Zenia); his grandchildren Brittany A. Jones (Jason), Alexa L. Whittington, Christian A. Olivo, Wyatt W. Whittington, Tiana M. Olivo, Mireille A. Fox (Elliott), Andreas C. Olivo, Matthew D. Olivo, Halle B. Olivo, and Mitchell E. Olivo; his great-grandchildren Emerson L. Jones, Carter N. Jones, and Gabriel N. Fox; his sister Carmen Olivares and numerous nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents Arnold F. and Teresa J. Olivo.
A funeral service will be held at Martin Funeral Home West at 6:00 PM with a reception to follow after, on Monday, September 18, 2023. The funeral procession will begin promptly at 8:00 AM at Martin Funeral Home West on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, and interment will follow at Ft. Bliss National Cemetery at 9:00 AM.
Pallbearers will be the US Air Force Honor Guard and Arnold’s grandsons Christian, Wyatt, Matthew, Andreas, and Mitchell will serve as honorary pallbearers
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MartinFuneralHomeWest.com for the Olivo family.
