Arnold Hedlund OBITUARY

Arnold Hedlund OBITUARY

Arnold Hedlund – minister, educator, entrepreneur, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and fighter for justice and peace – joined his daughter, his parents, his sister, and his sister-in-law in Christ’s heavenly Kingdom on January 3, 2026 after a battle with Alzheimer’s.

Arnold, the son of Swedish immigrants – Helga and John Hedlund – was born on April 23, 1936 in Los Angeles. He always cherished his Swedish heritage. He attended school in LA graduating from high school and community college there. He graduated in 1956 from Bethany College Lindsborg, Kansas with a BA and later in 1962 from Augustana Theological Seminary in Rock Island, Illinois with a Masters of Divinity. Finally, he received a Masters Degree in speech and educational administration and a pupil personnel certificate at San Jose State also.

From 1962 to 1969 Arnold served two Lutheran churches, first the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in 29 Palms, CA then St. Matthias Lutheran Church in Salinas. For the next 3 years, Arnold taught at Notre Dame High School in Salinas, and then at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. In the MPUSD he taught and served as a counselor for many years before becoming vice principal at Seaside High School in 1980, a job which he found very rewarding. Finally, Arnold served as director of Student Services in the district office at MPUSD until his retirement in 1994.

Arnold believed that “faith without works is dead”, and so among other things, became involved in the I-Help program, a program that fed dinner and provided overnight housing for up to 25 men a night at the various churches in Salinas. For a number of years , he also served as president of the Board at I-Help. Arnold and his wife received many blessings while feeding hundreds of meals to the I-Help men. Arnold also served for 20 years on the board of trustees for the Salinas City School District where he shared his perspective as a “father” of a district student, a Christian, and a school employee from a different district.

Arnold also believed in putting his money where his mouth was and so supported and donated to St. Paul’s, Dorothy’s Place/Kitchen, the NAACP, Habitat for Humanity, ACLU, Episcopal Relief, Common Cause, Separation of Church and State, Planned Parenthood, The United Farm Workers Union, United Way, Interim, Compassion in Dying and others. If you wish to give a memorial in Arnold’s name, we recommend St. Paul’s or Dorothy’s Place at P.O. Box 2027, Salinas CA 93902.

When Arnold retired in 1994, he became a priest at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salinas where he mostly volunteered his time. He also continued to own and manage apartments while helping his wife raise his grandson.

Arnold enjoyed travelling and eventually visited all 50 US states. He made several trips to Sweden, his parent’s birth place, and visited many other countries in Europe with his wife. Other destinations included Mexico, Canada, Central America, and two trips to the Holy Land. He also enjoyed 40+ summer vacations at their condo in North Lake Tahoe and a few trips for skiing during the winter. The condo served as “home” to the St. Paul’s youth group for several winter trips as well. Arnold was a rabid Dodger, LA Rams, and Warrior fan and heated up the TV whenever they played.

Arnold is survived by his wife of 68 years, Janet; his son, Keith and partner Lan; his grandchildren Steven, Jeremy, and Ruby; and his great grandson, Lucas.

A celebration of life for Arnold will be held on Saturday, February, 7 at 2 PM at St. Paul’s Church Episcopal Church at 1071 Pajaro Street, Salinas, CA (the church he belonged to for over 50 years).