Arthur Stevenson Carnahan

Arthur Stevenson Carnahan, Jr. (“Steve”), age 93, of San Diego, California, passed away peacefully on May 15, 2024, in Wilmington, North Carolina. His loving daughters were with him at the time of his death.

Steve was born on October 4, 1930, to Arthur and Fannie Carnahan in Riverton, Kansas. He was the youngest of eleven siblings—four brothers and six sisters—all of whom preceded him in death. As a young boy, Steve miraculously survived life-threatening burns from an accidentally set fire at his family’s farm.

Steve attended local schools and married his childhood classmate and the love of his life, Dora Louise Scott (“Dodie”). He was called to military service in 1953, and the Carnahan family moved to California. He received his honorable discharge with his final rank of US Marine CPL. He then went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University, majoring in physics with a minor in mathematics, while being employed full-time concurrently.

Steve was married to his beloved Dodie for sixty years until her death. In later years, he found companionship and love again with Joyce Cook, who also preceded him in death. He was a loyal and generous son, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, sibling, uncle, and friend. Steve was a born engineer, an insatiable learner, a fun-loving and fearless adventurer, a lifetime gardener, and a dedicated health and fitness advocate. He loved building and fixing things, fishing in the ocean, riding motorcycles and camping on the Baja California Peninsula, and traveling the world. He took numerous trips to over twelve foreign countries and throughout the United States.

Steve is survived by his four daughters: Cynthia, Leigh, Caryn, and Stephanie; two sons-in-law, Gary and Chris; ten grandchildren, Eric, Adrienne, Erin, Logan, Christen, Ryan, Nathaniel, Zack, Luke, and Genevieve; and seven great-grandchildren: Reagan, Johnny, Haley, Hanna, Harper, Soren, and Linnea.

A memorial service for Arthur Stevenson Carnahan, Jr. (“Steve Carnahan”) will be held on June 28, 2024, at 2:15 p.m. at the Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego, California. There will be a viewing for family and friends before the service at the Featheringill Mortuary from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with a car escort to the cemetery leaving promptly at 1:00 p.m.

People who are planning to arrive at the cemetery separately from the mortuary escort procession are asked to arrive promptly at 1:45 p.m. to line up for the informal cemetery procession to the memorial service pavilion. Guests will be directed to the Steve Carnahan procession at the cemetery entrance.

Floral arrangements, memorial trees, and condolence cards may be sent to or purchased at:

https://www.featheringillmortuary.com/obituaries/arthur-carnahan. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made in Steve’s honor to one of his favorite non-profit organizations, the Alzheimer Foundation of America (https://www.alzfdn.org) or the San Diego Blood Bank (https://www.sandiegobloodbank.org). Featheringill Mortuary is located at 6322 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego, CA 92115, https://www.featheringillmortuary.com/.

Miramar National Cemetery is located at 5795 Nobel Dr., San Diego, CA 92122. For general information, floral, grounds, and military decorum policies, driving directions, and a cemetery map, please visit: https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/miramar.asp and https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/maps/Miramar992.asp.