Arden Ellsworth Deering

Arden Ellsworth Deering passed away peacefully at his home at Tumwater Senior Living in Tumwater, WA, on February 12, 2025. He was born in Aberdeen, Washington, to John E. and Mary M. Deering on April 10, 1926. He attended schools in Centralia, Aberdeen, and Lacey before graduating from Olympia High School in 1944.

Arden then enlisted in the United States Navy, completing his training at Farragut Naval Training Station in Idaho and receiving additional training as a radioman on Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay. He was then deployed to the Philippines, arriving on the day World War II ended with the signing of the armistice in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri.

Not long after returning home, he met his future wife, Armyn L. Goodwin, and they were married at her parents’ home in Hoquiam on June 11, 1948. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Chicago, where Arden attended electrical school. Arden held a number of jobs in the Olympia area before being hired in 1953 as a TV and appliance repairman by Miller’s Department Store in Olympia. He worked there until October 1959, when he started his own business, Arden’s TV Service, working out of his garage.

In 1963, he built a new retail store and TV repair facility at the corner of Lacey Blvd. and Golf Club Road in Lacey. The business grew over the years, and in 1973, he built a much larger building to house Arden’s TV & Appliance. Beginning in 1989, the company also started building homes in the Olympia area. Arden remained highly involved in both businesses until his retirement in 1992.

Arden was deeply engaged in his community as well as his business. Over the years, he served as President of the Lacey Rotary and the Lacey Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Lacey Planning Commission and the Lacey Library Board. He was also devoted to serving his Savior, Jesus Christ, and held many roles at the church he grew up in, Lacey Baptist Chapel, from the time he moved to Lacey in 1935 until the mid-1970s. Later, he and Armyn attended Emmanuel Baptist in Olympia, the Church of Living Water in Olympia, Rochester Foursquare, and Evergreen Christian Community in Olympia.

Following retirement, Arden and Armyn enjoyed traveling in their motorhome to every state in the nation—except Hawaii.

Arden was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Armyn L. Deering; his parents, John and Mary Deering; his sister, Mary Wilgus; and his granddaughter, Karin Chatwood. He is survived by his three children: Tom (Kathy) Deering, Janice (Mike) Nelson, and Ron (Sharon) Deering; his grandchildren: Jeff (April) Nelson, Rob Chatwood, Greg (Lorna) Deering, Angie (Darin) Russell, Keith (Jessica) Nelson, Debbie (Jake) Tobeck, Jaci (Andy) Gruhn, and Nate (Jill) Deering; as well as 15 great-grandchildren.