Arnold E. AIRHART

April 25, 1918 – April 17, 2006

Arnold Elwood Airhart of Abbotsford, BC, died April 17 at the Mission Memorial Hospice at the age of 87. Arnold was born in Alsask, Alberta, the third of four children born to his parents John Franklin and Anne (Eby) Airhart. Of two elder twin sisters, Violet died in early childhood and Viola predeceased him in 2002. His younger brother, Willard, is retired and living in Hamilton. Arnold met, and later married, his wife Doris (Comfort) while he was attending Canadian Nazarene College in Red Deer, Alberta.

Arnold spent his life in service to the Church of the Nazarene, both as a pastor and as president of Canadian Nazarene College. His last assignment before retirement was Academic Dean of Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Upon their retirement in 1983, the Airharts returned to their native Canada settling in Abbotsford where they have lived until the present.

Arnold was a man of many talents and interests. He was an avid hockey player in his high school days and only his slender build kept him from pursuing hockey at a more competitive level. His passion for golf is well-known but he also enjoyed fishing for many years. And as much as Arnold enjoyed being a husband and father, he relished the role of grandfather and, in his last few years, great-grandfather as well. He took a deep and godly interest in his grandchildren and the legacy of love and spiritual guidance that he leaves to them is something that he took great pains to foster.

Arnold is survived by his wife of 66 years, Doris (Comfort), their three children and their ­spouses: son Philip (Laurie) of Veneta, Oregon; son Russell (Carol) of Winnipeg; and daughter Carolyn Alho (Rolland) of Calgary; 8 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Willard (Dorothy), of Hamilton.

Arnold E. Airhart: Books