Arthur Albert Arsenault

Arthur Albert Arsenault (aka “Diesel Man”) died of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis on November 11, 2022. IPF is a rare, irreversible, incurable, terminal disease that is marked by scarring of the lungs for as yet unknown reasons; it may be genetic or caused by environmental factors. Arthur did not smoke, but he grew up near a paper mill and worked as a diesel mechanic for thirty years. He was 65 years old.

Arthur was raised in Maine and never lost his love of the state although he lived elsewhere for more than half his life. He joined the Marine Corps in 1977 and trained and worked as a military police officer. In 1985 he was honorably discharged from the service and began attending Palomar College to obtain his diesel mechanic certificates. He started his own mobile diesel repair business, “Diesel Man,” in 1990 and worked for himself until 2018 when he was forced to retire due to his IPF diagnosis. He liked bowling and belonged to a league at one point; he also loved the desert and riding ATVs with his father-in-law, Harold Wayne Turner, and friends. His life was mechanics of all kinds. He could fix anything: cars, trucks, machines, trailers, RVs, household appliances. His family was the center of his life, and he volunteered many hours at his kids’ schools; attended all soccer and basketball games; belonged to 4H and taught projects including auto mechanics to the 4H members; and spent a lot of time roughhousing with the nieces and nephews in the swimming pool and playing Bongo (cornhole) with them. He liked to fish at the family camp and was pretty good at it. He enjoyed the movies a great deal, especially superhero flicks, and always had a box of Red Vines licorice in his pocket.

When he realized he was dying, he and his wife took three months-long trips across the country and he was able to live in Maine and enjoy its bounty and beauty during the spring, summer, and fall of 2019, 2020, and 2021. He was too weak to return in 2022.

Arthur was pre-deceased by the love of his life, Li’l Bow Wow, the Lhasa Apso/Shih Tzu ball of fluff that he hand-raised from a 3-½ ounce pup. Arthur is survived by his wife of 37 years, Kathryn Louise Turner-Arsenault, his four children, Jessica Mary Hawkins, Robert John Hawkins, Luis-Antonio Turner Arsenault, and Yocelyn Kathryn Arsenault. Arthur’s parents, Albert Arthur Arsenault and Alice Theresa Arsenault, pre-deceased him, but he is survived by his four siblings and their spouses: Catherine Alice Gilbert, Mary Rose Warming (Greg), Peter Theodore Arsenault (Penny), and Joseph Phillip Arsenault. On his wife’s side, Arthur is survived by his mother-in-law Shirley Rae Turner, sister-in-law Stacey Ann Turner, sister-in-law Sarah Sue McSpadden (Steve), and brother-in-law Walter Wayne Turner (Tonya). In addition, Arthur had 7 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren, 19 nieces and nephews, and many cousins, aunts, and uncles, all of whom he loved dearly.

A memorial service will be held on December 17, 2022, at noon, at McLeod Mortuary, 1919 E Valley Pkwy, Escondido, CA 92027. The service will be followed by a social hour and light lunch to allow Art’s friends and family to mingle and share memories. Art’s ashes will be taken to Maine and buried on Memorial Day 2023 at the family camp. He will finally be home again, as he so often wished to be.

If you cannot attend the December 17, 2022, memorial in person, please feel free to attend via Facebook Live at https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/escondido-ca/arthur-arsenault-11025350 Scroll down until you find the “Services” section and a blue box that says: “SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2022, LIVESTREAM” Scroll down a few more lines and click on the circled arrow above “Join Livestream.”

If you would like to post photos or memories for Art, you can do so at: https://www.legacy.com/link.asp?i=OB38274058&utm_source=copiedlink&utm_medium=ppn_confirmation&utm_campaign=share&utm_content=ppn_obit