Published: May 29, 2009 07:57 am      

Arringtons celebrate anniversary

LIVINGSTON, Mont. — May 30, 2009, commemorated the 70th wedding anniversary of Owen and Eleanor (Murray) Arrington of Livingston.

Owen and Eleanor were married at the Bedford Street Methodist Church in Cumberland, Md., by the late Rev. George Baughman. The best man was Chester Sunderlin and the maid of honor was Sara Newlin.

Owen is the son of the late James and Alda Arrington of Ridgeley W.Va. He graduated from Ridgeley High School in 1936 and worked at Cumberland Steel Company until 1941. He attended McDaniel College in Westminster, MD., graduating in 1946. He then attended Wesley Seminary in Washington, D.C., where he was ordained as an elder in 1948 with the United Methodist Church.

Eleanor is the daughter of the late Frank and Katie Murray of Ridgeley. She graduated from Ridgeley High School in 1939. Not only was she a full-time mother of six kids and homemaker, but she also was a minister’s wife, working in the many churches they served and volunteering in the community organizations.

In 1948, Owen and Eleanor moved to Forsyt to serve the Methodist church there. They continued to serve churches in Ronan and Havre until 1961, when Owen took the job as executive secretary of the Montana Methodist Conference. In 1968 they moved to Billings, where Owen worked in the Department of Development at Rocky Mountain College. They moved to Livingston in 1972 to return to the ministry at Holbrook United Methodist Church, retiring in June 1982.

They are parents to five daughters and one son: Elaine and Gary Stav, Arco, Idaho; Linda Arrington, Boise, Idaho; Owen and Yvonne Arrington Jr., Bozeman; Annette and Don Olsson, Ronan; Rochelle and Phillip Moody, Livingston; and Nicki and Brad Hicks, Livingston. They have been blessed with 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren and four more great-grandchildren due this year.

Dear Mom and Dad...You have been wonderful parents all our lives. Thank you for a lifetime of love and devotion to us and each other. God has used you — your words, deeds, and attitudes — to make us who we are. We will always be deeply grateful to you. Thank you for your love, encouragement, affirmation and support. We are here today because of your compassion, insight and, most of all, your patience. You have given us so many opportunities and we are forever grateful. By your example we have learned the values of faith, family and hard work. We love you.