Edna (Downs) Arnold

Edna May Downs Arnold, age 81, resident of Somerville, Tennessee and wife of John Ward Arnold, departed this life Monday morning, January 30, 2023 at Christian Care Center in Bolivar, Tennessee.

Edna was born February 20, 1941 in Oswego, New York, the daughter of the late Charles Downs and Winogene Drury Downs. She graduated from nursing school in Washington, D.C. in 1961 to become a registered nurse. She was married in June of 1986 to John Ward Arnold. Edna comes from a musical family and her mother taught her how to play two instruments.

Mrs. Arnold moved to the Memphis area and was employed as a registered nurse with Baptist hospitals for 30 years. She then became the Director of Nursing at West Tennessee Mental Facility for 10 years before her retirement.

Mrs. Arnold is survived by her husband, John Ward Arnold; her daughter, Gail Davis (Ronnie); her son, Brian Suratt (Rachel); two sisters, Lillian Eminhizer and Esther Gray; two brothers, Albert Downs (Barbara) and Charles Downs (Elaine); six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and one great-grandchild due in April.

Funeral Services for Mrs. Arnold were held at 10 A.M. Saturday, February 4, 2023 at the Peebles West Funeral Chapel at Oakland with Don Minshew officiating. Interment followed in the Fayette County Memorial Park Cemetery on Highway 64.