John Arno
December 3, 2018
Mass of Christian Burial for John Arno, 85-year-old lifetime Buffalo resident who passed away Monday evening at Johnson County Health Care in Buffalo will be celebrated Friday, December 7th at 10:00 a.m. at the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Buffalo with Father Peter Johnson as celebrants. Visitation will be at the Harness Funeral Home on Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. A vigil service will be held, and the Rosary recited on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. at the Catholic Church. Interment will be in Willow Grove Cemetery with graveside services to follow the mass. Donations in John Arno’s memory may be made to the John Arno Memorial to go towards Johnson County Fairgrounds, for upcoming projects, in care of the Harness Funeral Home at 351 N. Adams in Buffalo. Online condolences may be made at www.harnessfuneralhome.com
John William Arno was born on June 28, 1933 in Gillette, Wyoming to John and Mary Arno, he and his brother, Jimmy were the first identical twins recorded in Campbell County. He grew up and went to school in Campbell County and graduated from Johnson County High School with the class of 1952. After high school he was drafted into the Navy and served on the SS Thompson for two years. Following his service, he returned home and worked on the family ranch. He was married on July 25, 1959 in Buffalo to Bernadette Marton and they made their home on the ranch on French Creek. In 1968 they bought a ranch south of Buffalo on Poison Creek, where they lived and raised their family. In 1988 John and Bernadette sold the ranch and moved into Buffalo where they lived until his death.
John was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, an ELKS lifetime member, Knights of Columbus, and the Wool Growers Association. He loved to team rope and won many team roping competitions, including the Sheridan WYO Rodeo in 1962. He always enjoyed trailing his sheep to the mountains and spending time in his sheep wagon at his camp on Powder River Pass. John was an excellent cook and was always timely with a joke. His passion was his family. The entire family took four fabulous trips together, to Belize, Playa Del Carmen, Cozumel and Australia which he enjoyed.
He is survived by one son Bill Arno of Sheridan; four daughters Celeste Besel of Buffalo, Annie Wollenzien and her husband Paul of Sheridan, Laurie Scantling and her husband Chip of Buffalo and Kellie Jensen and her husband Wayne of Buffalo, and thirteen grandchildren, and one sister, Mary Lou Borgialli. He was preceded in death by his wife, Bernadette, his parents and brother, Jimmy Arno.
