LONGTIME DELEGATE ARNICK, 72, DIES
John Arnick served in the Maryland legislature for 35 years.
by Bill Gates

Former state delegate John S. Arnick, who served the Dundalk community for 35 years in the Maryland legislature, died Tuesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Arnick, who was 72, had been admitted to Hopkins in early May for a severe case of pneumonia but was found to have cancerous tumors in his right lung and a lymph node in the center of his chest.

“My heartfelt prayers go out to John's wife, Joann, and his family during this very sad and difficult time,” longtime friend Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said in a written statement Tuesday. “John was a personal friend and a hard-working colleague in the House of Delegates, a job he did well for the better part of the last 40 years.

“He was deeply committed to public service, and his dedication will be missed.”

Arnick slipped into a coma early Tuesday and never reawakened, said his wife, Joann. He was pronounced dead at about 1 p.m. that day.

“He passed away peacefully,” Joann Arnick said.

Doctors had been treating John's cancer with radiation, she said. At a meeting last Thursday involving Arnick, his family and the doctors, the decision was made not to try chemotherapy.

“Chemotherapy would have been too tough on him. The cancer was too advanced,” Joann Arnick said. “John's decision, along with his family, was that we would stop at that point and just keep him comfortable.”

From that day, she said, her husband's cancer was terminal. He was lucid and very involved in the decision, she said.

Arnick went into a coma on Monday, then came out of it.

“He rallied [Monday] and was able to communicate everything he needed to say,” Joann said. “We communicated with him, as well. Then he continued to slip away from us.”

Arnick resigned from his 6th District seat on the House of Delegates at the end of the past session in order to accept a position with the state Board of Contract Appeals.

He served one day on the Board, May 1, before being bedridden with an illness he at first thought was a bad cold or the flu, but was actually pneumonia.

Arnick was admitted to Hopkins on May 5 to treat his pneumonia. He was placed in the cardiac care unit after a major decline in his blood pressure and a fluid build-up in his chest prevented his heart from beating.

Doctors suspected the fluid build-up was caused by lung cancer, and soon found the tumors. Treatment could not begin immediately, as Arnick's body was still too weak from the bout of pneumonia.

The initial prognosis was positive, but the cancer eventually was found to be too advanced and Arnick too weak to endure the chemotherapy.

Arnick, a Democrat, was first elected as a state delegate in 1967. During his career, he was considered an expert on how government worked, and assisted politicians from both parties in understanding the law and writing bills.

He was the House majority leader from 1971 to '79 and 1987-90.

“John's going to be sorely missed,” State Sen. Norman Stone said on Tuesday. “He's been a good friend for over 42 years. I dreaded this day, I really did. We all knew it was coming, but still you always hope for a miracle.”

Copyright © 2006 Dundalk Eagle
Published June 15, 2006.