Bruce Barry Arnold, 68, died peacefully at his Greenbush home with his loving wife at his bedside at 4AM on Thursday June 30th. He had endured many difficult challenges during his lifetime, but especially over the past year as he faced complications from pancreatic cancer. His family, friends and co-workers describe him as an exceptionally hardworking and passionate "Patriot" with many years of dedicated service to his community and his country. He will be greatly missed.

Born on August 5th, 1947 in Bangor to parents Roscoe Lee Arnold, Jr. and Elizabeth Marguerite (Powers) Arnold, Bruce attended local schools and spent some of his childhood with his grandparents on Deer Isle after the passing of his mother when he was seven. He had especially fond memories of his grandmother and childhood summers Down East.

Bruce joined the U.S. Navy in August of 1964 after his 17th birthday and served as a Boiler Technician on surface ships. He became very skilled in shipboard systems and applied that knowledge to a long career in the pulp and paper industry. He was employed by Champion International Corporation for many years before retiring in 2001 as Engineer in charge of two 60,000 psi steam plants where he supervised engineers at Costigan and Passadumkeag. He was Loss Control Officer (Mill Fire Chief) and trained fire teams while maintaining plant firefighting systems. Bruce was responsible for wood drying and quality control in a 195 MBF saw mill. He came to love the forest lands of Northern Maine just as he loved being on the ocean.

He was on active duty with the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Naval Reserves from 1964- 1993 where he excelled and rose to the highest enlisted rate of Boiler
Technician Master Chief. He learned to become an excellent leader in both his military and civilian careers and was determined to see his teammates succeed and advance in a safe, professional workplace. He was proudest of the team effort that resulted in him receiving a Twenty Five Year Service Award without a Lost Time Accident from Champion International.

He retired from the Navy in 1993 as Command Master Chief for the Naval Reserve Center Bangor. Master Chief Arnold lived the Navy's "Chiefs Creed" and counted among his greatest friendships the enlisted and Chief Petty Officers he served with during his career. He was recalled to Active Duty on several occasions including an assignment to Commander Military Sealift Command Mediterranean supporting the massive shipment of cargo on ships during Operation Desert Storm.

Master Chief Arnold was dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans from all the Armed Services. Few things made him angrier than seeing Veterans mistreated or neglected. He belonged to the American Legion, was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1761 in Bangor and a member of the Disabled Veterans of America.


Bruce, a lifelong student, continued his schooling after retirement and was awarded Associate Degrees in Applied Science in 2002 and Business

Management in 2003 from Eastern Maine Technical College where he graduated as a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. He then received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Husson College in 2006 and his Master of Science Degree from Husson in 2008 graduating Cum Laude. He loved to hunt and fish in the less traveled regions of Maine and with characteristic humor told of his getting a large moose out of the deep woods as "his greatest engineering achievement."

Bruce is survived by his wife Hyun-Jue who he described frequently as "beautiful" and "the best nurse in the whole wide world" and by his sisters Susan and her husband Charles Yanush of Greenville, Darlene Harriman of Alton, and his brother Mark of Bangor, his nephews Alger, James and Jason, his sons Trevor of New York and Teddy of Florida and granddaughters Shenen and Brittni. He was predeceased by his parents and his brother Gary.

A memorial service with military honors will be held 2:00 p.m. Saturday, July 23, 2016 at Brookings-Smith 133 Center St., Bangor. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.BrookingsSmith.com

Affiliations