Dr. Carl Berry Arnold

Dr. Carl B. Arnold, 78, of Salem, Arkansas, son of Griffin Alexander Arnold I and Thelma Lorene (Berry) Arnold, was born on November 27, 1932, in Old Joe, Arkansas. He departed this life on September 29, 2011, at the Fulton County Hospital in Salem, Arkansas. Carl was united in marriage to Norene Lamb on August 30, 1957, at Melbourne, Arkansas. Carl came to Salem in 1959, after two good friends, Milton Lee Humphries and Junior Moody used their time to recruit a young doctor by taking him fishing on Norfork Lake. They caught many, many fish and had such a good time that the fishing trip was the topic of many conversations over 52 years. Dr. Carl loved Fulton County Hospital. He and Dr. David Ducker donated the land for Fulton County Hospital where it currently stands. The need for the hospital was realized when a woman almost bled to death giving birth in the original Salem Clinic. The need for better care and facilities was realized. Fulton County Hospital became reality on March 21, 1963. On its first day of hospital operation, a child was born. In the years to follow, Dr. Carl continued to prove his dedication to the hospital and the community. He was involved in health care, school board, and quorum court. He was involved in recruiting several local physicians: Dr. Ducker, Dr. Davis, Dr. Tucker, Dr. Moody, Dr. Bozeman, Dr. McCormack, Dr. Griffin and Dr. Phillips. He worked many endless hours over his career from activity in the clinic to house calls, hospital treatment to surgery and obstetrics. Dr. Carl always referred to himself as a “Generalist”, because he did a little bit of everything, but he also did what had to be done. On one occasion, one of his patients was hemorrhaging badly. There was no blood available so a quick ‘army-style’ crossmatch was done to check for blood compatibility. He started a live transfusion from himself to his needing patient as they traveled in the ambulance. He was very active with all aspects of farming and would try to convince you that Charolais or Red Angus was the best cattle breed. Many of the office visits were spent talking ‘farm’ rather than illness. He enjoyed farming, fishing and watching calves and grass grow. Dr. Carl was definitely “outstanding in his field.” When he retired from active medicine in 2004, he by no means stopped being involved in medicine or the Fulton County Hospital. He kept up to date on the hospitals status, talked to administrators and board members regularly, and was concerned about anything which may threaten the hospitals existence. On the night before he died, he was calling and talking to board members about an important vote involving the hospital. Dr. Carl was concerned about this community, the hospital, his friends and family till his breath left him. He died in the hospital he loved. He will be missed. Services will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2011, 1:00 PM, Barker Funeral Home Chapel in Salem, Arkansas, with Bro. John Hodges officiating. Interment will be in Burk’s Chapel Cemetery, Camp, Arkansas, under the direction of Barker Funeral Home of Salem. Pallbearers were Matthew Arnold, Robert Arnold, Brent Southard, Robert Humphries, Chaun Godfrey, Scott Moody and Thorpe Thompson. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to the Fulton County Hospital Foundation Building Fund, P.O. Box 7, Salem, AR 72576.