James Edward Arena

James Edward Arena, Sr. was born about three hours after his twin brother in Clarksburg, WV on January 18, 1935. Raised by his grandparents, he started school in Clarksburg and then after the first grade, moved to Durham where he graduated from Durham High School. Jim played center on Durham High’s State Championship Football team. He graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in pharmacy. He did his internship with Hunter Kelly in the professional building, worked several years in retail pharmacy and decided that hospital pharmacy was his calling. Working for Duke, he became the best ophthalmic pharmacist in the world – according to his wife. He had calls from all parts of the globe for his formulas.
Jim enjoyed hunting and fishing. He would not shoot a deer, but he did enjoy hunting birds, specifically quail, dove and turkeys. Turkey’s tails were his finest prize; the fact that the meat was too tough to eat didn’t matter.
Jim loved to fly. If he could choose to be any wild animal, it would surely have been a bird so that he could soar above the clouds. He got his private pilots license in the sixties.
Jim is survived by his wife of 56 years, LuRuth Sutton Arena; sons, James Edward, Jr. and Paul Anthony; two grandchildren, Jillian and Charlie; sister-in-law, Patricia Sutton-Kallmeyer as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Jim was predeceased by his grandparents, Anthony, and Rose Arena; parents, Pat, and Ruth Arena; brother, Robert Anthony Arena; sister, Mary Jo Arena; aunts, Teresa Arena, Regina Arena Roseman and Carolyn Arena Petitto; uncle, Jay Arena; cousins, Roseanne, Carolyn (Cissy), Angelo Petitto and Amy Marshall Robbins.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or to a local animal shelter.
A funeral mass will be held on Monday April 19, 2021 at 1:00 PM at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Durham, NC with inurnment to follow at Maplewood Cemetery.
The Arena Family is under the care of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service, Durham, NC. Online condolences: www.hallwynne.com; select obits.