Constance Arpin

Constance Coleman Arpin passed away on May 2, 2014 surrounded by loved ones. She was 88 years old. Connie was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Montrose, Colorado with her family when she was a child so her parents could help her grandmother manage the family’s farmland. Connie, like her mother, graduated from Stanford University. However, as was not uncommon for the time, to ensure her employability she then attended Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York City. Her first job was as the executive assistant to the director of the largest hospital in Denver, Colorado. She married David Rost Arpin of Denver in 1950 and shortly thereafter moved to Jacksonville, Florida where she lived for almost 50 years. She moved to Atlanta in early 2012 and was as happy as she could be during her final years. Connie was remarkable for her kindness, intelligence and utter acceptance of all people, provided they had a good heart, or the potential to develop one. Nothing else mattered.. She confronted many surprising challenges throughout her life, all of which she resolved with grace and wisdom. Those included numerous family tragedies as well as her own macular degeneration and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. She had two biological children, David Coleman Arpin and Suzanne Marie Arpin, who generously contributed to that long list of surprising challenges. She also unofficially adopted or was unofficially adopted by a number of other “children by choice” including: Jay Brown of Atlanta, Georgia; Judy Goins Quick of Shelby Shores, Alabama; Christy Coggin Hayden of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; Cara Marris of Atlanta, Georgia; and Jeff Manus of Gastonia, North Carolina, who was her bio son David’s long-time companion. She is survived by her daughter, Suzanne Arpin, of Atlanta, Georgia as well as all of her children by choice. She was loved by everyone who knew her and will be profoundly missed. No memorial service is currently planned. If you would like to make a gesture in her memory, please consider making a donation to Lambda Legal at www.lambdalegal.org/donate.