Eleanor B Arnold

Eleanor Frances Balko Arnold, passed away April 1, 2023, in College Station, Texas. Eleanor was born August 27, 1922, in Houston, Texas, where she lived for the first 92 years of her life. In 2015, she moved to College Station to be closer to her daughter and was able to continue to live independently. She celebrated her 100th birthday last year surrounded by immediate and extended family.

Eleanor was a graduate of Reagan High School in Houston, Texas, where she met her future husband, Roy Franklin Arnold. Roy, on military leave, and Eleanor had their first date on VJ Day in August 1945, as they joined thousands of Houstonians celebrating the end of the war. They married four months later.

Eleanor and Roy had four children, Larry, Diane, Ronnie, and Richard. After being a stay-at-home mom when her children were young, Eleanor worked for many years in the accounting department of Palais Royal department stores. She retired in 1983 to spend more time with her mother and grandchildren.

Her family and faith were the most important things to her, and she expressed her love for them often. She had a wonderful sense of humor, and many people described her as one of the nicest and kindest people they knew. She was a loving and devoted grandmother.

One of Eleanor’s greatest joys was growing beautiful azaleas, amaryllis, and roses and she loved having beautiful flowering plants around her. Her family enjoyed and respected her ability to stay in touch by text and email, even past her 100th birthday.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Erwin and Lillian Balko, and her sisters Jacqueline Dafft and Carolyn Auringer. Her husband Roy passed away in 1996, not long after celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary.

Eleanor is survived by her son Larry and his wife Margaret ‘Marti’ of Arlington, Tx, her daughter Diane and her husband Steve Hassel of College Station, Tx, her son Ronnie and his wife Cecilia ‘Cecil’ Egan of Richmond, Tx, and her son Richard W. and his wife Diana Arnold of Austin, Tx. She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Chaz Steinhauser, Michael Arnold, Shayne Hassel, Jessica Arnold, Katherine Arnold, Daniel Arnold, Richard T. Arnold, and Nicole Waite and four great-grandchildren: Miranda Perhacs, Mikayla ‘Mike’ Perhacs, Daniel John ‘Jack’ Arnold, Leah Arnold with another on the way.

We would like to thank the doctors and nurses that provided such excellent care to Eleanor, especially Dr. Clint Cheng and his nurse Elizabeth Lopez, who were important to her for the last eight years.

A funeral service for Eleanor will be held Wednesday, April 5, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Forest Park Westheimer Funeral Home, 12800 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77077, followed by a committal service from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Paralyzed Veterans of America or the National Federation of the Blind.