Alfred (Al) Armond Arduengo, Jr.

Alfred (Al) Armond Arduengo, Jr. was born February 21, 1964 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to parents Alfred and Frances (Hendricks) Arduengo. Al went peacefully to be with His Lord on April 10, 2018, in Carrollton, Texas, after a hard battle with ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was a Marine Corps veteran and a true warrior throughout his illness.

Al is remembered with love by his devoted wife, Sarah; son, Andrew Small (Annie); daughters, Chelsi Arduengo and Rita Arduengo; two grandsons, Ryan and Luke Small; mother, Frances Arduengo; siblings, Laura Bingham and Joe Arduengo; nieces and nephew: Sarah Washburn (Jordan), Rebecca Beene (Cody) and Matt Bingham; sister-in-law, Kathey McDaniel (Roy) and their children, Chase (Katie) and Bailey; sister-in-law, Lisa Goerdt; sister-in-law, Pam Russell and her daughter, Reagan; and brother-in-law, Chris Goerdt (Robyn) and their children Zack (Karly), Savanah, Haylee and Payden plus great nephews Noah, Parker and Hoyt. He was preceded in death by his father. He is also greatly missed by his devoted Beagles, Harley and Bonnie. They are lost without him and are waiting patiently to sing barbershop for
him again one day in Heaven.

Al started playing trumpet in sixth grade and didn’t stop until his third year into a music degree at Henderson State University. At that time, he decided he did not want to continue with a music degree and decided to join the military – fortunately, the Marine Corps recruiting office was open that day. He always said that joining the Marines was the best decision he ever made. He was deployed during both Desert Shield and Desert Storm and was so proud of his country and fellow Marines for the work they did. It remains the thing of which he is most proud. He received an Expert Rifle Badge five times in his career, and he could always be counted on to ‘make the shot’.

After leaving the Marine Corps, he returned to school. However, now he wanted to become an Electrical Engineer. He achieved that dream in May 1998 and began a career in the high-tech world of semiconductors. He was honored to work for Motorola, Texas Instruments and Finisar.

Al earned the name Gadget Man early in his engineering career because he always had to have all of the newest gadgets – calculators, phones, watches and computers. In college, I always joked that his calculator was his mistress! If you visited him over the past year, you know he had become fond of wearing up to five watches at a time! His philosophy was definitely “wear them if you’ve got them!” He was a big fan of heavy metal bands like Slayer; however, not a big fan of long conversations – with him or around him. We would always laugh because if you asked him if he wanted you to stop talking – he would nod YES!

The family will receive friends for a visitation Tuesday, April 17, 2018 from 6:00-8:00 P.M. at King of Glory Lutheran Church, 6411 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75240. A funeral service will be held Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 11:00 A.M. at King of Glory Lutheran Church. Al will be honored by the U.S. Marine Corp and laid to rest Wednesday at 2:15 at the Dallas Ft Worth National Cemetery, Dallas, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the ALSA (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association) Texas Chapter (www.alstexas.org) .