Obituary of Arthur Charles McDaniel

Arthur Charles (Charley) McDaniel, 94 or Tucson, AZ, passed away peacefully on July 27th after courageous battle with dementia. He is survived by 3 sons: Jack E. (Barbara), Jerry L. (Roberta) and James C. (Edilia). He leaves four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren: William A. (daughter Lindsay), Laura M Vogt (children Jace and Kynzie), Taylor and Hayley. Charley, a Tucson native, was born May 4, 1925 at St. Mary's Hospital (Stork's Nest). He was youngest of the eight children of Jasper D & Katherine (Hardcastle) McDaniel and the only one born in a hospital. Charley grew up in Oracle Junction where his parents ran the Walnut Service Station. At the age of 12 he was driving a 1927 Model "T" truck from the Junction up to Oracle to attend school. Six years later on June 22, 1943, as a member of the "Greatest Generation", he joined the Army and headed to England with the 37th Amphibious Engineers as a crane operator. On "D-Day" June 6th 1944 his unit landed on Omaha Beach. He also participated in the Battle of the Bulge and was a crane operator building the Bridge at Remagen over the Rhine. His unit was at Dachau when it was liberated where he served as a cook feeding the newly released prisoners. He was honorably discharged on January 7, 1946. He and his fiancé Florence (Flossie) Marie Lee were married on October 16, 1946. Charley went to work for Tucson Rock & Sand as a heavy equipment operator and he retired almost 27 years later as a Plant Superintendent. Charley loved listening to his "music box". He always had a very positive outlook on life. If asked how he was doing his answer was either, "Just perfect!" or "A-number-1!" He was always friendly, caring toward others and had a quick, contagious smile. A small family memorial will be held at East Lawn Palms Mortuary on Saturday October 5th at 10:00 am, where Charley will be reunited with his wife of almost 60 years, Flossie.