Gene Arnfield, 89, an advertising designer who also taught round dance and won awards for his dancing, died of pancreatic cancer Tuesday, May 7, in Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview. Mr. Arnfield was born in Clovis, N.M., the son of a Presbyterian minister. When he was a child, Mr. Arnfield traveled all over the country with his family before they settled in Chicago, where he attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He received his degree from the academy in the 1930s. He met his wife, Edna, in 1939 on a blind date and they married the following year. Mr. Arnfield designed ads for a Chicago advertising firm, Reincke, Meyer and Finn, for 39 years. In the 1950s, Mr. Arnfield and his wife became involved in round dancing, a type of choreographed ballroom dancing, because it was a way to stay fit and meet people. “Our doctors said there was nothing better than what we were doing,” she said. In the 1970s, the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance awarded him medals for his dancing,said his wife. The couple turned their hobby into a job after Mr. Arnfield retired from advertising in 1988. Mr. Arnfield, a Skokie resident for 40 years, and his wife taught people how to dance the two-step, waltz, fox trot and cha-cha at fairs and clubs throughout the country and in Europe. “He was a smooth dancer,” said his wife. Mr. Arnfield was a member of Round-A-Lab and the Chicagoland Area Round Dance Leaders Association. An avid golfer, Mr. Arnfield won his artists guild tournament several times and had three holes in one year. In addition to his wife, he is survived by many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. May 18 in Northminster Presbyterian Church, 2515 Central Park Ave., Evanston.
