January 10, 1926 – April 18, 2024
Emma Sue (Walters) Arnold was born in Tifton, Georgia, on January 10, 1926. She passed away peacefully at Moab Regional Hospital on April 18, 2024, just a few months after her 98th birthday.
Sue married Tom Arnold while they attended Florida State University in 1946. She graduated with a degree in botany and was a Zeta Tau Alpha. After college, they moved often: Atlanta, Detroit, Toronto, three places in Colorado, and finally settled in Moab in September 1969. Sue never hesitated to say Moab was her favorite place. In the old days, she and Tom enjoyed the Alibi, the Elks Club, and the Town and Country—all of which no longer exist. She was an avid sports fan, a lifelong fan of the Broncos, Jazz, Tigers, Red Wings and NASCAR, especially Bill and Chase Elliot.
At the age of 98, she had outlived all of her many friends. In years before, she bowled in a league at the original Moab Lanes, played bridge weekly with a group of friends that have also long since passed away, and enjoyed her many years working at Rim Rock florist doing flower arrangements.
Sue is preceded in death by her husband, Tom Arnold, the owner of Tom Tom’s VW Museum.
She is survived by her four sons and their wives, David (Theresa), Bill (Ginger), Tom (Debbie) and Joe (Carol); as well as by her six grandchildren and her five great-children.
Sue loved plants and animals, was very open-minded and always welcomed everyone into her house. She and Tom were both classic examples of the way things and people were in Moab before it was “discovered and developed”.
The family will have a private burial at Sunset Memorial Gardens Cemetery.Family and friends are invited to send tributes to the family at www.SpanishValleyMortuary.com.
