Raymond T. Arnold, Jr Bio
Profile and Family
Raymond (“Ray”) Thomas Arnold, Jr was the only child born to the union of the Late Annie Maude Rookard (Arnold, Mathis) and Raymond Arnold, Sr, on November 25, 1934, in Westminster, SC. He was a retired schoolteacher and a devoted father. He was married to the late Mary Ellen Ferguson Arnold, also a schoolteacher. Widowed since 1979, Mr. Arnold raised their three children, Sonya, Antonia (“Toni”), and Raymond III (“Trey”) as a single parent.
His parents were prominent educators and his mother Annie Maude was the daughter of Furman Rookard and Annie Fowler Rookard. Furman’s siblings and children primarily attended Upper Shady Grove Baptist Church where they were active in church and instrumental in the history. Ray continued the Rookard legacy as a member of Upper Shady Grove Baptist Church where he was also baptized. He served as a trustee for many years and taught Industrial Arts at Vacation Bible School.
He grew up in Wellford, SC in a rural community spending time with his close first cousin the late Marcellus Rookard. They often stayed with their grandmother Annie and many people assumed they were brothers. Marcellus was an older special needs child who admired Ray. He was one of the only people who could communicate effectively with Marcellus. He remained his primary responsible party until Marcellus passed in 2018.
Education
Ray attended Corner Primary Rosenwald School (early 1940s) and later Upper Shady Grove Colored School (a Rosenwald School) until the 8th grade. He was a graduate of Spartanburg County Training School, and he earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Arts with a minor in Automotive Technology (Class of 1954) at South Carolina State College (now University). He graduated from college at the young age of 19. He began his teaching career at Lincoln High School in Taylors, SC, where he remained for 15 years. After de-segregation, he taught an additional 15 years at Eastside High School (also in Taylors, SC), until he retired from Greenville County Schools in 1985.
Career in Teaching and Racing
Anyone who knew Ray can affirm his passion for “all things automotive”. Through his love of cars, he formed bonds with people from a variety of backgrounds. In addition to Industrial Arts, Ray taught Automotive Mechanics and Driver Education. Student field trips included tours of an Atlanta-area General Motors Assembly plant and racing events at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. He founded a drag racing team at Eastside High School, and he selected his top students to serve on the pit crew. They built a race car featuring the school’s royal blue and gold colors. The Eastside team competed at multiple NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) venues in the region, including Spartanburg Dragway, Greer Dragway, Atlanta International Dragway, and Blaney Dragstrip (near Columbia). He was especially proud of his students from both Lincoln and Eastside High Schools. Many of them were inspired to pursue careers in education or the automotive industry. Ray often attended class reunions for his students from Lincoln High School. He was well-loved by his former students, and a number of them remained in touch with him and his family well into his final days.
While teaching, Ray was also a member of the first African American NASCAR racing team, with legendary driver Wendell Scott at its helm (in Car #34). He was affectionately called “Rags” by fellow pit crew members because he always kept shop rags in his pockets. He served on the pit crew until Mr. Scott retired from the sport in 1973. The two remained very close friends until Mr. Scott’s death in 1990. When Mr. Scott was posthumously inducted into the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class, Ray was there to bear witness to Mr. Scott’s accomplishments and to share his own personal experiences.
Businesses
Ray developed an interest in selling cars as a teenager. He was a licensed automobile dealer for most of his life and operated as Ray Arnold Automotive. Many in the community have shared that he helped them get their first car, in spite of credit issues or low finances. He was also known as an outstanding salesman at T.A. Mosley’s New and Used Cars in Greenville, SC from the 1960s – 1990s.
His business savvy included selling cars, as well as doing carpentry projects, doing contract work for commercial and home renovations, owning and investing in real estate, being a landlord and owning the Chicken Coup soul food eatery. For several years he farmed and sold produce to local supermarket chains. He once owned a record store, The Soul Shack in the 1960’s and 1970’s in Greenville, SC. He sold records that spoke to and about the issues of the times. The genre was soul music, R&B, blues, gospel and recorded sermons. He used the airwaves as a thought leader on the historical narrative of the Civil Rights Movement and Black Consciousness era.
His entrepreneurial spirit, initiative and drive as a community contributor was a part of his DNA. The Rookards lineage dates back to the Revolutionary War (Bedney Rookard). They were a large family recognized as progressive farmers (in peaches), property owners and overall educated, upright, and prominent citizens of Wellford. This occurred during the 1920s-30s, in spite of Jim Crow Laws and the Great Depression. The Rookards, were community leaders as educators, tradesmen, business owners and church leaders.
His mother the late Maude Mathis operated the only kindergarten for black children in Spartanburg, SC in the 1960s and 1970s. Her sister Otis Rookard Miller operated a kindergarten in Inman, SC, where she also taught music lessons and operated Miller Funeral Home. They both were retired school teachers, who went to college during the New Negro Movement. Mr. Arnold’s grandfather Furman Rookard owned and operated the peach farm in Wellford on land this is thought to be the current day Lake Cooley. His father Raymond Arnold, Sr was the president of a junior college in Seneca, SC, after he and his wife Maude graduated from Morris College.
Community Involvement
Ray’s enthusiasm for education inspired his children to pursue careers in medicine and science. Sonya became a physician. Antonia and Trey earned mechanical engineering degrees, and they are currently with John Deere and Ford Motor Company, respectively. Ray assisted his children, his relatives, and local youth with science projects and other school work. He once helped Sonya build a model hurricane, he helped Toni with a “glow-in-the-dark” solar system, and he helped Trey build a model traffic light and a model bridge with a de-icing mechanism. Ray found it important to expand educational opportunities for others in his community.
He was strongly dedicated to vocational education and career development. He was on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Vocational Association, and he once served as District 1 Director for the South Carolina Prevocational Education Teachers Association.
Ray was a spirited alumnus of South Carolina State College. He was one of the initial founders of the Spartanburg County Chapter of South Carolina State University Alumni. Fellow alumni remember him for his active involvement. They note that he was instrumental in carrying out the work of the chapter, and he once donated a car for fundraising efforts. Fellow alumni appreciate his valuable input, his comic relief, and his dedication.
He was inspired growing up by the late R.P Dawkins and his wife the late Hillard Dawkins. They were his educators when he attended Spartanburg County Training School (Fairforest, SC) during his high school years. Ray’s father Raymond Arnold, Sr passed when he was a toddler. Mr. Dawkins knew his parents and was like a godfather to him. Ray followed in his footsteps and attended the same college, SC State. He remained close to Mr. Dawkins and was key in his well being after his wife Hillard passed. Mr. Dawkins was his principal and a prominent education in Spartanburg, SC. A middle school is named in his honor. Mr. Arnold was involved in coordinating the scholarships honoring Mr. and Mrs. Dawkins. The relationship Mr. Dawkins had with his students was influential in how Ray taught and mentored when students at Lincoln High and Eastside High Schools.
Ray had multiple touch points with history. He lived through segregation and participated in the Civil Rights Movement, often experiencing racism even at his own home. He attended the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, he participated in the groundbreaking first African-American NASCAR team, and he received an 80th birthday card from the first African-American president, Barack Obama. He and his family were unsung history makers who saw their numerous contributions as a part of life and their own civil right to achieve and live ambitiously.
Other Interests
Ray enjoyed all forms of music, specifically Motown, R& B, jazz, and blues. Even as his health declined, he enjoyed the songs of Marvin Gaye, Al Green, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and B.B. King. He occasionally served as a DJ at local reunions. At one point, he was a part-time radio personality (“Rockin’ Ray”) at a local radio station. He often sang in talent shows and played the drums.
His Legacy
Left to cherish Ray’s memory are his three adult children, Dr. Sonya Arnold, Dr. Antonia Arnold-McFarland (“Toni”), Raymond T Arnold III (Trey), son-in-law Tony D. McFarland, Sr, and a special friend, Louise Scott. He is also cherished by his brothers-in-law Harvey Ferguson, Alton Ferguson, Earl Ferguson, Thomas Perkins, sisters-in-law Cynthia Ferguson and Charlotte Ferguson Taylor, numerous nieces and nephews, close cousin Wayne Rookard, close family friend Frankie Scott (son of the late Wendell Scott and fellow member of Mr. Scott’s NASCAR Team), and a host of other relatives from the Rookard, Ferguson, and Arnold families. He will always be remembered by his former students, SC State alumni, and countless others who had the honor of knowing him. Ray certainly has made a tremendous impact on his community, and his family remains committed to continuing his legacy.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Spartanburg County Foundation for the Arnold Family Legacy Scholarship Fund. Inquiries can be made at ArnoldFamilyScholarship@gmail.com.
Psalm 32:8 New International Version (NIV)
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.