Arthur Joseph Romagno

Arthur was born on April 2, 1925, to parents, Joseph and Pasqua Romagno in an oilfield community at Grass Creek, Wyo. At an early age, Arthur's family moved to Cottonwood Creek where they homesteaded and raised cattle. Arthur attended "Happy Hollow" School, a one-room schoolhouse on Cottonwood Creek for grades one through eight and attended Hot Springs High School where he graduated in 1943.

Arthur was inducted into the U.S. Army early in 1944, taking 16 weeks of basic training at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas. After completing basic training, he was given a 10-day furlough for a short stay at home before reporting for duty in the 201st Infantry Battalion at Fort Jackson, S. C. Here he received six weeks of infantry training prior to being shipped overseas as an infantry replacement. His ship, the USS Tasker H. Bliss, landed at Naples, Italy, in December of 1944. Arthur remembered eating Christmas dinner in the rain. After spending time in the replacement depot, he was assigned to a signal corps battalion attached to the 5th Army Headquarters. After the war ended, his outfit was assigned as occupation troops in Vienna, Austria, where he remained until June of 1946 when he was shipped back to the United States and was honorably discharged from the service at Fort Leavenworth, Kans.

While Arthur was home on furlough, he met and fell in love with the only love of his life, Helen Yount. He asked her if she would marry him after the war was over and she said yes she would wait for him and she did. They were married on June 19, 1946, in Red Lodge, Mont., and spent nearly 62 years of marriage together. Four children were born to this union: Roy, Carolynn, Dixie and Joseph.

Arthur worked in the oilfields at Hamilton Dome, Wyo., for twenty years as a roustabout, pumper and welder. He was transferred by Empire State Oil Company to Taft, Calif., in 1966, where he worked as a contract welder until his retirement in January of 2001. He trained a number of the younger welders working in Kern County today.

Arthur was an active member and twice Past President of The Model T Ford Club of Kern County (1984 and 1985) and a life member of the Model T Ford Club of America. Art, Helen and family enjoyed driving and touring in their beautifully restored 1915 Model T throughout the western United States. He was also a life member of VFW Post #2281 in Thermopolis.

He is survived by his son, Roy; four grandchildren, Tara (Phillip) Rowland, Joshua Kelly, Jennifer Floyd and Jarrod Romagno; ten great-grandchildren, Austin, Cassidy, Brandon, Griffin, Arthur, Kaleb, Kaitelin, Christian, Brooklyn and Alex; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Arthur is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Helen; son, Joseph; and daughters, Dixie and Carolynn.

A funeral service will be held in the Erickson & Brown Funeral Home Chapel on Thursday, December 8 at 1 p.m. Burial will follow in the West Side District Cemetery. There are no visitation hours scheduled. To sign an online guestbook or express online condolences please visit http://www.EricksonAndBrown.com.