Mary Jane Arnold was a homemaker who made a career of community service. Over six decades as an Elgin resident, she devoted time and resources to organizations from the Girl Scouts to the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. “She liked to be involved in her community and wanted to participate,” said her daughter Deborah Treacy. Mrs. Arnold, 81, died of cancer Monday, April 28, in Sherman Hospital, Elgin. A Chicago native, Mrs. Arnold was an accomplished pianist and received a bachelor’s degree in music in 1942 from Northwestern University, where she met her husband of 60 years, Ashley Arnold. They married in 1942 and spent a year in Brookings, S.D., before returning to the Chicago area and settling in Elgin. Mrs. Arnold was a troop leader for the Brownies and Girl Scouts while her children were growing up and was active in the Parent Teacher Association at Elgin-based Unit School District 46. Mrs. Arnold was a longtime member of the Elgin Junior Service Board as well as the Sherman Hospital Auxiliary and PEO, which provides educational opportunities for young women. She helped organize annual charity balls for the Fideliter Club, a philanthropic group in Elgin, and was active in the Friends of Judson College and the YWCA of Elgin, which honored her in 1995 with an award for community service. Mrs. Arnold was co-chairwoman of the Elgin Symphony’s first auction fundraiser and helped with subsequent auctions for many years. “The symphony was one of her real passions,” said her daughter Linda Ireland. Mrs. Arnold is also survived by a son, Jeffrey; two more daughters, Donna Robertson and Susan Madson; a brother, John Ten Eyck; and 15 grandchildren. Visitation is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in Madison Funeral Home, 305 Park St., Elgin. A service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday in First Congregational Church, 256 E. Chicago St., Elgin.
