Thomas O. Arnold (D)

THOMAS OREN ARNOLD (Tom), age 85, passed away suddenly and peacefully Thursday, the 4th of June 2009. Tom was born on the 20th of November 1923 in Houston, Texas to Thomas Jewell Arnold and Georgia Buck Arnold. He is survived by his wife of 53 years Grace ;rdon Arnold, his daughter Vivian Arnold O’Leary and her husband Tom, his son ;rdon Thomas Arnold and his wife Adriane and his grandchildren Tom Davis O’Leary, Jr., Tucker Brantly Arnold, Grace Margaret O’Leary, Eloise Eugenia Arnold and Lyda Weaver Arnold. He also leaves his brother, Daniel Calmes Arnold and his wife Beverly, his sister, Jane Arnold Touchstone, his brother-in-law Tulane ;rdon and his wife Dianne, his sister-in-law Lucy Arnold and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Mary Virginia Johnston and his brother, William Buck Arnold. Tom was an avid tennis player. He was twice voted Best All Around Intramural Athlete at the University of Texas. He read the sports page FIRST every day, especially if the headlines were about the Texas Longhorns. Tom was known for his unending love of his children and grandchildren, as well as, his skill and passion to teach and inspire his friends, family and associates. His perseverance and optimism in overcoming many medical challenges, to the surprise of his doctors, will be remembered by all. Tom served as an engineering officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II onboard the battleship U.S.S. Washington and the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Roosevelt and was honorably discharged as a Lt. JG. A nationally and internationally known preeminent intellectual property attorney, mediator, arbitrator, and special master, Tom attended the University of Texas (B.S.E.E., 1944; J.D., 1949), where he was an Assistant Editor of the Texas Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. He was the founder of Arnold, White & Durkee, which became the nation’s second largest intellectual property specialty firm, with offices in Houston, Austin, Washington, Chica;, Minneapolis, and Palo Alto. In 2000 that firm merged into the law firm now known as Howrey LLP. By his example and his teaching, Tom inspired the very best practice of law, professionalism, ethics, civility, and courtesy among his own colleagues and many of the nation’s intellectual property attorneys. Active in city, state, national, and international intellectual property law and general law bar associations and organizations, Tom was the leading officer either as President or Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the National Council of Intellectual Property Law Associations, the Licensing Executives Society (USA/Canada), the State Bar of Texas Intellectual Property Law Section, and the Houston Bar Association. He was also a Fellow of the American, Texas, and Houston Bar Foundations. Tom’s public service included serving on the Department of Commerce Patent Advisory Committee, the Department of State Advisory Committee on International Intellectual Property, and the Board of the Houston Legal Foundation. Tom’s public service extended beyond legal matters, including serving on the Boards of the Houston Community Foundation, the Houston Ear Research Foundation, and serving as a trustee of the United Fund. A prolific author and speaker, Tom authored or co-authored or delivered over 400 books, articles, and speeches in the fields of his law practice. He frequently taught courses as an adjunct professor of law; spoke or taught courses at bar association continuing legal education programs; and spoke or taught courses for other organizations including the Practicing Law Institute, the Charter Institute of Arbitration, the American Arbitration Association, and the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution. Among Tom’s many honors and awards were The Jefferson Medal awarded by the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association for outstanding contributions to the practice of intellectual property law (seldom awarded to attorneys in private practice), the National Inventors Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the development of patent law and practice (awarded on rare occasions to a non-inventor), and the Patent and Trademark Office Society Award for contributions to patent law and to practice before the Patent and Trademark Office. He also was awarded the Distinguished Life Award from his church, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in 2007.