Thomas N. Arnett, Jr.

18 Oct Thomas N. Arnett, Jr.

Thomas N. Arnett, Jr. died in his sleep at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was born on January 3, 1947, in Newport News, Virginia to Col. Thomas N. (USAF) and Janet Porter Arnett.
He graduated from Radford High School, Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1965, where he served as Student Body Vice President and was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by his senior class. He graduated from the University of Utah in 1969 (GO UTES!) and the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in 1976. Somehow, during these years, he also learned to fly an airplane, worked on a pipeline crew in the Mojave Desert, and served as a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor.
Tom joined Phi Delta Theta Fraternity at the U, where he made lifelong friendships, and served as Chapter Vice President. From 1981 to 1992 he served as Chapter Advisor and was named International Chapter Advisor of the Year in 1986 and Utah Alpha Edward J. Whitney Alumnus of the Year in 1993.
Tom married Gail Burkett on November 9, 1974, later divorced.
He practiced law for 15 years before being appointed a Commissioner in the Third District Court in 1991, where he served until his retirement in 2013. He was a member of the Utah State Bar, the Salt Lake County Bar, and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He served as a Bar Examiner for 10 years and as Chair of both the Family Law Section and the Courts and Judges Committee of the Bar. He was a member of the Utah Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct and the Utah Judicial Council Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. He was a Certified Judicial Instructor and spoke frequently to various groups.
He was a long distance runner, a member of the Canyonlands Half Marathon 10-Year Club and looked forward to the St. George Marathon each year, completing it 9 times. He finished every race he started. Tom enjoyed camping, backpacking, traveling the United States and Europe, reading, the Utah Symphony and art museums.
Tom loved his 1914 home next to the U. Campus. He built his own library (with a secret door). Until advancing age slowed him down, he was constantly renovating his home. He is survived by his brother Jeffrey, Jeff’s wife Patti, and their daughter Miranda.
Rather than some drivel about an afterlife, which Tom did not believe in, he preferred a thought from Arthur C. Clarke: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”