Rev. Arthur Darien Jr.

Rev. Arthur Darien, Jr., Captain, United States Air Force (Ret.) was born in Furman, South Carolina on September 24, 1939 to the late Arthur L. and Albertha “Bertha” (nee Young) Darien, Sr. He was the oldest child born to this union. He departed this life on June 19, 2023.

Raised in Pineland, South Carolina, Arthur was called “Bo” by many (except his parents). Art, as he was also known, took on many caregiving duties when his father passed away when Art was seven years old. Despite the added duties, he excelled in school and was senior class president and Valedictorian for the Jasper County High School Class of 1957.

The day after graduation, Arthur was on a train to New York City to pursue more opportunities than those available in the segregated South of the time. While working at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan, he met and fell in love with fellow South Carolinian Janie L. Smoot, a nurse in the maternity ward at the hospital. During this time period, Arthur joined the United States Air Force. Janie and he wed on July 16, 1958. Over the years, the Lord blessed them with five children.

Arthur began his Air Force career in Intelligence as a radio operator. After being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1974, he became a Cost Analyst. In 1973, he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Economics from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, MO, graduating with Hilltop Honors. In 1977, he earned a Master of Arts in Business Management from Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, MI. He also studied at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Arthur’s career in the USAF took the family to many locales including but not limited to Texas, Okinawa, Germany, Ohio and California. A temporary duty assignment on the Greek island of Crete was one of his favorites while San Antonio, TX was his most favorite duty station. A career highlight included serving as Chief Program Control Officer, Advanced Space Communications Program, from 1976-79. In this role, he prepared budget estimates and day-to-day tracking of the program’s financial activities

After retiring from the Air Force in 1984, Arthur became a senior analyst and Dayton, OH branch manager for Tecolote Research, Inc. A career highlight included serving as Chief Editor and Project Administrator for Air Force Systems Command’s Cost Estimating Handbook developed and published by TASC.

In 1990, Arthur answered the call to the Gospel ministry and was licensed to preach the Gospel by the United Missionary Baptist Church, Middletown, OH. In 1991, he was ordained to the Gospel Ministry by the Pee Dee Baptist Association in South Carolina. He served as Pastor of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, a home-based outreach ministry and was a former associate minister of Round 0 Baptist Church in Darlington, S.C. He was a member of the Darlington County Black Ministerial Alliance (DCBMA) and served as chairman of the DCBMA Social Actions Committee. During tenure in this office, was actively involved in addressing inequities in various departments of city government relative to employment practices as well as reviewing complaints from the citizenry against the police department. He was chairman of the City of Darlington Civilian Review Council (CDCRC) and a member of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Task Force on crime and violence. After returning to San Antonio, Rev. Darien served as assistant minister at Gardendale Community Baptist Church. He later served as pastor, retiring after 14 years.

Rev. Darien was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, his baby daughter Denise Y. Darien, his son Alan B. Darien, his brother James Darien, sister Lousa Darien-Reynolds (Bobbie), and sister Barbara Darien. He leaves to mourn his son Arthur L. Darien, III (April L.), his son Kendall R. Darien, his daughter Michele Y. Darien, his granddaughter Lauren D. Darien, his grandsons Arthur L. Darien, IV and Anthony L. Darien (Brooke), his great-grandson Dominic Darien and two step-great-grandsons Riley and Koby, his daughter-in-law Lisa Darien, his sisters Ruthie Williams (Robbie) and Lillie Rose Darien-Mitchell, his brother Theodore Darien (Peggie), his sister-in-law Yvonne Parker-Darien, his brother-in-law Johnny Smoot (Doris), his great-aunt Lizzie Etta Wright, special cousin Harold Lee Saxon, and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins. While we rejoice that he is reunited with the loved ones he so sorely missed, we will miss him dearly until we meet again.