Services for Mr. Arlin D. Boler will be held 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at Neshoba Baptist Church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Dr. Johnny Collins, Bro. Byron Howell, and Bro. Warren Hedgepeth will officiate.
Visitation will be held 9:30 – 11:00 am, Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at Neshoba Baptist Church.
Mr. Arlin D. Boler, 82, passed away on Saturday, May 1, 2021.
Mr. Arlin is survived by his wife, Sue Boler of Union; a son, Ricky Boler and wife Tanya of Union; two daughters, Glenda Goforth and husband R.L. of Union and Vinita Parker of Neshoba; eight grandchildren, Richard Goforth and wife Mandy, Jessica Burns and husband Ufa, Grant Goforth and wife Brittany, Casey Horton, Joseph Parker, Jonathan Parker and wife Terryn, Corey Boler, Aislin Boler and fiancé Jay; 15 great-grandchildren; and a sister, Ruth Goss.
Mr. Arlin is preceded in death by his wife, Ella Ruth Boler; granddaughter, Allison Nicole Stevens; great-granddaughter, Coralline Parker; three brothers; one sister; and parents, Alton and Livonia Boler.
Pallbearers were Richard Goforth, Grant Goforth, Nathan Burns, Joseph Parker, Jonathan Parker and Mason Jones
Honorary Pallbearers are Men’s Sunday School Class of Neshoba Baptist Church
When people think about Arlin Boler, they often smile, remembering jokes and pranks. He loved to laugh at himself, and both at and with others. People who didn’t know him well couldn’t always tell if he was serious or not. However, he not only laughed with those who laughed, but he often wept with those who wept. As a funeral director, he would sometimes stand in the back of the chapel and cry with the family during a funeral. He cried at weddings, and he sometimes cried listening to beautiful old songs or watching old sad shows.
Arlin loved music — almost any kind of music except Willie Nelson — and especially good bluegrass. He played the guitar and the piano. Singing in a quartet with his family at church made him happy. Listening to his brother, Leonard, play and singing along to the old familiar tunes from his childhood made him happy. Listening to his sister, Ruth, play his favorites on the piano made him happy.
An uncooperative golf club, a stationary trailer hitch, and his daughter’s tears upon reading Where the Red Fern Grows did not make him happy, however. Arlin loved his family, a good front porch, and overalls. His children remember him being intimately involved in their lives. Their memories range from riding with him in a 1956 Ford with only a straight chair for a seat to his providing a safe place when the world seemed to be a bit too much. They remember his joy in their performances of everything from Hambone to sacred hymns with three-part harmony. His grandchildren remember Papaw Boler’s hilarious comments and loving acceptance of them, flaws and all.
Arlin loved God and his church. He was a long-time member and deacon of Neshoba Baptist Church. He raised his children in this church, volunteering to help with the youth and singing in the choir. He and Sue remained faithful to the church until his death.
Arlin was good at a lot of things, but making friends and being a friend was his gift, and he used his gift freely. He will be missed.
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