George E. Arthur

Our beloved husband, dad, granddad and great granddad, age 82, went home to be with the Lord on November 21, 2014 from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he had undergone chemotherapy treatment for a very rare form of cancer.

George was born on May 19, 1932 to George and Florence Jane Arthur in the state of California where he lived until entering the Army.

George is survived by his wife, Gwen, sons Vaughn and Keith, daughters, Kim, Valerie and Vicki, daughters-in-law, Cathy and Kathryn, sons-in-law, Mike Bright and Carlos Canales. Grandchildren are Justin and Kelly Bright and their sons, Carter and Davis; J.T. and James Bright; Brian Arthur; Katie, Sam, William and Abbie Arthur; and Daniel Canales. George was preceded in death by his grandson, David Michael Arthur, age 18, only seven weeks ago and we feel sure they have had a sweet reunion. George was also preceded in death by his parents and three brothers.

Influenced by a high school buddy, George accepted Jesus as his personal Savior and felt God calling him to preach soon after his conversion. He then began making plans to get college and seminary training. After two years in the Army supporting the Korean War effort, he enrolled in Wayland Baptist College in Plainview, Texas, where he received his B.A. Degree. It was during this time that he met and married Gwendolyn Jane Barrett. After graduation from college, George continued his education in Ft. Worth, Texas where he received his Master of Divinity Degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and later his Doctor of Ministries Degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri. He and Gwen felt Godís call to go to Southeast Asia and served with the International Mission Board of the SBC. Upon returning to the States, George served as Director of Missions in both Stoddard County, Missouri, and Montgomery County, Maryland, retiring after 23 years. After retirement, George and Gwen spent 8 years traveling and doing volunteer construction of churches and working in SBC camps in Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Virginia and Jamaica.

Georgeís hobbies included woodworking, ceramic painting, watercolor painting and sketching. In his later years, his greatest joy came from teaching a Sunday School Class at James River Baptist Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that contributions be made to international missions. A special fund will be set up at James River Baptist Church in Georgeís memory and then forwarded to the missions agency. Checks should be made to JRBC and marked for George Arthur memorial.

Funeral arrangements have been made by Sam Houston Funeral Home in Montgomery, Texas, and Bucktrout Funeral Home in Williamsburg, Virginia. Visitation will be at Bucktrout on Saturday, November 29 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Memorial services will be held at James River Baptist Church, Williamsburg, Virginia at 2:00 p.m. Sunday. Interment will follow in the church cemetery.