| Dennis Arnold loved making music and had reached a fair amount of success in the 1960s when his group, The Shenandoah Trio, was a regular feature on The Jimmy Rodgers Show. But if he wanted to continue on his musical path, he’d have to be away from his family for a long time, something that didn’t fit into his plan of spending time at his Canoga Park home with his wife, son and daughter.
“He decided the reality was he loved his family and wanted to be with his family,” said his son, Scott Arnold. “The two didn’t go together.”
So Dennis Arnold settled on a career as a aerospace engineer, working on projects that shot into outer space. The family later moved to Camarillo. He
retired a few years ago but returned to work when his wife Maria, kept working at the school she owned Stoneridge Preparatory School in Moorpark.
“He was a very young 75,” his son said.
Barbara Alimisis, his neighbor in Camarillo, said she saw Dennis Arnold
jogging around the hilly streets nearly every day.
“He was a very gentle human being,” she said.
And he still would play music from time to time. His son and daughter were part of a bluegrass band, Antique Music Company, which played local gigs.
Every Sunday, his two children would bring their children over to Dennis Arnold’s house for dinner, which he told his son was his favorite time all week long.
He was a life-long lover of trains who was fascinated by them, his son said.
Dennis Arnold was on his way home from work when his family heard about the crash. |
