Celebrating the Life of Deacon Randolph Arthur Jr.

Randolph Arthur Jr. was born August 5, 1931, to Randolph Arthur Sr. and Lily Ruth Jeanette Arthur in Belhaven, North Carolina. He was the fourth child of thirteen siblings. He had a very happy and healthy childhood. Randolph graduated from Belhaven Colored High School. He was quite popular and had many friends in school. He participated in many school activities. His favorite was basketball and the school chorus. He was bass in the school quartet. In fact, the quartet participated in a sing-off at Duke University in North Carolina. They sang Beautiful Dreamer. They won second place. They were told that they would have won first place if they had smiled.  During all these activities, he still maintained a "B" and sometimes an "A" average. When he completed high school, he married the girl of his dreams, Margie Marie Rice. He often said that when he was in first grade, and she was in kindergarten,  she was going to be his wife (fresh kid).  It took many years and many girlfriends before he made his move to fulfill his dream; she was in the tenth grade, and he was in the eleventh grade.

They dated for one and a half years and God blessed them to be married for seventy-one years. He always says, "God did it. He put us together." His motto was, "for a good marriage,  always make it interesting, continue to love each other, and trust in God." Randolph and Margie are the proud parents of four children, Terence Arthur, Calvin Arthur*, Sherwood Arthur, and Kim Arthur.  Randolph entered the US Army in March 1952 and served one- and three-quarter years in Germany, and one-quarter was spent in Fort Gordon, Georgia. He hated being away from his sweetheart wife, Margie, of than two years.  When he returned from Germany, he attended Vaughn Barber School. He learned to cut hair at age thirteen by practicing on his friend's hair. He was a very good barber; some customers say he was very good, but he was too fast. One year after graduating from Barber School, he opened Arthur's Barber Shop in Brooklyn, New York, and the rest is history. For forty-six years, he was the best barber around. In his early manhood, he and several other men founded Masonic Light Lodge #25. He served four years as "Worthy Master" and two years, as the "Red House Master." Randolph also served in the community, as Chairman of a Cub Scout Den. The Den grew from six boys to eighty boys.

He always attended church and participated in different church ministries. He really loved and trusted God. After he returned home from the army, we looked and found a church home. We chose Pleasant Grove Baptist Church (now Pleasant Grove Tabernacle), with Bishop Albert Jameson being its current pastor. He served as a deacon, trustee, Sunday school teacher, and choir member. He trained the new deacons who were to be ordained.

Randolph and Margie loved to travel, land and sea. They visited many countries such as England, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, and many others. They also visited Ghana in Africa. They traveled to many states including Hawaii, Alaska, California, and at least twenty others. They enjoyed many cruises and road trips. They never took separate vacations and loved them.

Sixteen years ago, He and Margie moved to Palm Coast, Florida after following our son, Terence's advice. They visited Mt. Calvary Baptist Church and fell in love with it immediately. Randolph became a Deacon and Leader of the Benjamin tribe, and Margie became a Deaconess. Randolph also joined the men's choir and attended Sunday School.

Randolph has many loves, among them is woodwork. He has made many pieces of furniture in our home. He loved his twelve grandchildren and his eleven great-grandchildren, and his ten Godchildren. They were all the joy of his life. Randolph was a wonderful, devoted husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and a friend to all. That's who Randolph Arthur Jr. was and will be loved and remembered by all.