Ford Arp

Ford W. Arp, 93, died peacefully, with his eldest grandson Matthew by his side, after a brave struggle with heart disease at the Maine Veteran’s Home of Bangor, ME. “Bill”, born in Rockwood, TN, was the oldest of the eleven children of W. Ford and Cora Nell Evans Arp. He graduated with honors from Rockwood High School where he was a member of the championship swimming team. Raised on a farm, Bill had an affinity for animals. He joined the US Coast Guard in WWII and began training dogs for the military. He also headed a mounted patrol on the beaches of Georgia and South Carolina. After the war he attended night school at Yale University in order to earn a degree in Accounting. He headed the accounting department of International Silver Co. in Wallingford, CT for over 25 years. He then took on the challenge of Vice President of Marketing for Pepsi Cola and later took over as the State Auditor of CT. He enjoyed serving his community as a member of the Rod and Gun Club, Elks and Kiwanis. He was also a trooper in the CT State Police Auxiliary and the chairman of the Housing Authority of Wallingford, CT. He is predeceased by his wife Loretta of 68 years, his brothers George Ed and David Lee, and his sisters Dorothy and Betty, his son-in-law Dr. Joseph Pechinski and his grandson Michael. He is survived by his only daughter Sheila Jayne Pechinski of Bangor, ME, grandson Matthew, his wife Brooke and three great grandsons, Baxter, Hunter and Mason, all of Falmouth, ME, his grandson Jason Pechinski and his wife Linda of Boston, MA, his granddaughter Marie Karen Pechinski of Revere, MA, and his sister Jane Bishop of Alabama. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 11 a.m. at Most Holy Trinity Church, 84 N. Colony St., Wallingford, CT. Interment with Military Honors will be in St. John Cemetery in Wallingford. For those who wish to remember Bill in a special way, contributions can be made to Wallingford Animal Shelter, 5 Pent Road, Wallingford, CT 06492. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.BrookingsSmith.com and www.Wallingfordfh.com