Don Arrowsmith, 91, of Orient

Funeral Services:  Will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at the Orient United Methodist Church with a luncheon immediately following the service.  The burial will be on Monday, February 6, 2023, at the Cedar Cemetery in Larrabee, Iowa, at 11:00 a.m. with full military rites. The Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield is in charge of the professional arrangements.  Online condolences may be left to the family at www.lambfuneralhomes.com. 

Open Visitation: Will be held on Friday, February 3, 2023, at the Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Family Visitation:  The family will greet friends on Friday, February 3, 2023, at the Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers memorial may be given to the Orient United Methodist Church or to Everystep Hospice Winterset Team.

Donald Paul Arrowsmith, the sixth child of Addie (Patterson) and Charles Arrowsmith, was born on July 27, 1931, near Bayard, Iowa. He attended Bayard Consolidated School for 10 years and graduated from Coon Rapids High School in 1949.

After graduation, Donald helped his mother farm after the death of his father in a farm-related accident. On December 10, 1951, he got a notice to report for a physical to be drafted into the Army. Donald went to Camp Dodge a day early and enlisted in the United States Air Force instead. He was trained as a jet engine mechanic and was stationed at United States Air Force bases in North Africa, Illinois, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. Donald was also part of the 308th Periodic Maintenance Squadron at Hunter Air Force Base Strategic Air Command in Savannah, Georgia, where the B-47 bombers were based. He was honorably discharged in December 1955.

In fall 1955, Donald enrolled in classes at Buena Vista College and graduated in May 1960. It was here where he met Mary Ellen Smith who he would later marry in August 1960. Donald and Mary moved to Maryville, Missouri, where he would enroll in college at Northwest Missouri State University. Donald took shorthand and business courses during the day and worked the night shift at the hospital in Maryville.

After a semester, Donald accepted a teaching position at Dow City High School in Dow City, Iowa, where he taught business education courses. In summer 1965, he accepted a teaching position at Mount Ayr High School in Mount Ayr, Iowa. He taught typing, shorthand, bookkeeping, and accounting. Donald and Mary’s son, Keven, was born in November 1965. Donald continued to take courses at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville during the evenings and summers. He received his master’s degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia in May 1969.

In 1969, Donald accepted the position of high school principal and athletic director at Orient-Macksburg High School in Orient, Iowa. He continued to take college courses toward his specialist degree at night and during the summers at Northwest Missouri State University from the University of Missouri – Columbia. Donald enjoyed attending athletic events and FFA activities for the O-M schools. He was a huge supporter of O-M wrestling.

Donald was active in his community, serving on boards for the Orient United Methodist Church, Orient Lions Club, Adair County Landfill Board, and as a city councilman in Orient.

After serving 25 years as high school principal and athletic director, Donald retired in June 1993. He pursued hobbies of reading western and fiction books; woodworking; refinishing furniture; bow hunting for deer; and pheasant and deer hunting and fishing with his son, Keven, and grandson, Jacob. He loved watching his Britany Spaniel dogs, Sport, Sam, and Duke, chase pheasants and quail on their many hunting adventures. He also enjoyed painting houses and farm buildings in the Orient area. Donald loved watching western movies. His favorite actors were John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Tom Mix, James Coburn, and Steve McQueen.

Left to celebrate his life are his wife of 62 years, Mary Arrowsmith of Orient; son Keven Arrowsmith (Jolene Rosebeck) of Waukee; grandson Jacob Arrowsmith of Fort Collins, Colorado; sister Gloria Burns of Sacramento, California; sisters-in-law Ramona Arrowsmith of Sarasota, Florida, and Deanne Arrowsmith of Glidden, Iowa; and many nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.

Donald was preceded in death by his parents Addie and Charles Arrowsmith; his parents-in-law Hattie and Ervin Smith; brothers Charles (Mary), Frank, Howard (Edna), Harold (Clara), Gerald (Pat), John, Kenneth Lee, Norman, and Larry Joseph; sisters Opal (Edward) Visner, Irene Fick, and Audrey (Ross) Caniglia; sister-in-law Shirley Arrowsmith; and brother-in-law Bob Burns.