Our mother and grandmother Arlene was a powerful determined woman of sturdy Nebraskan stock. She helped raise two sisters and then raised three children of her own. She could be no nonsense, but she had a gentle heart and a mind so sharp she could break a piece off for each of us and still have plenty of her own. She loved crosswords and mystery novels and really reading anything and jigsaw puzzles and the LA Lakers. She was a navy wife. She was a banker. She was accustomed to being the boss. She seldom played cards with us but when she did she always held her own. She let her grandchildren make pillow forts and eat ice cream soup. She said ‘merciful heavens’ and ‘gracious’ and ‘oh bother’. She taught us patience and forgiveness. She had six grandchildren, and four great grandchildren that she met and held so dear, with another still on the way she only had a short time to begin to love the idea of. She was the glue that held everything together. And she deserved to go on her own terms. We all got to say our goodbyes. She was predeceased by her son Billy, her husband Bill, her father Roy, and her mother Golda. On December 31st her daughters Gayle and Kara played ‘that good music’ sitting vigil with her until her husband Bill jitterbugged her away three minutes until midnight.
