William M. "Bill" Arnold

William Malloy “Bill” Arnold Jr, 85, of Sanford, passed away Wednesday, October 3, 2018. A Memorial service will be held at 3:00pm Sunday, October 7th at The Jonesboro Presbyterian Church, with Internment immediately following at the Jonesboro Cemetery.  Visitation will be held at the church fellowship hall beginning at 2pm.

 Bill was a proud lifetime resident of Lee County, was born in Jonesboro, NC, and was a lifelong member of the Jonesboro Presbyterian Church. He was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce Todd Arnold and his sister, Katherine Arnold Holt. After graduating from Jonesboro High School, he attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He took over his father’s farm supply business in Jonesboro after his father’s untimely death in 1953.  After several years running this business, Bill used the knowledge he developed of farm irrigation equipment to start Carolina Irrigation Company, which installed irrigation systems in golf courses throughout the southeast.  Professionally, Bill is best known for envisioning and developing Carolina Trace, which he began in 1969.  He owned and ran Southport Marina in Southport, NC from 1976 to 1986. From the late 1980’s to the mid 1990’s he worked on the development of Heritage Village in Spring Lake, NC.

 Bill is survived by three sons; Billy Arnold and wife Debra of Maggie Valley, NC; Todd Arnold of Southport. NC; and Mark Arnold and wife Elaine of Charlotte, NC; four grandchildren, Daniel Arnold of Raleigh, NC, Matthew Arnold of Sanford, NC, Meredith Webster and husband Ryan of Mt Pleasant, SC, and Evan Arnold of Raleigh, NC

 In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Jonesboro Presbyterian Church, 2200 Woodland Ave., Sanford, NC 27330; or to the Jonesboro Historical Society, c\o Sarah Dahl, 570 Hickory House Road, Sanford, NC 27332.