Arlene was born on March 6, 1939 to Archibald and Lillian Shields of Chicago, Illinois. Arlene graduated from Wells High School as Valedictorian of her class. In her younger years, she enjoyed dancing and travelling. She even lived in Africa for 2 years in the town of Bangui in the Central African Republic. When she returned to the United States, she held a job as a flight attendant. One day Arlene and her girlfriends heard that the USO was going to hold a ball for all military servicemen. They couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go meet the boys in their uniforms. It was there that Arlene met a quiet small-town Navy boy, John Bolton. She walked up to him and asked him to dance. The rest is history. They married in 1968 and moved to Kansas City, Missouri.
John and Arlene travelled the world for a few years before settling down to start a family. The family made frequent trips to Lake of the Ozarks, where John and Arlene enjoyed boating and most of all sailing. In 2005, John and Arlene moved back to Kansas City to be closer to their children and grandchildren. She cared deeply about her family and will always be remembered as a good mother and grandmother. Throughout her life, Arlene was very persistent, motivated and could get things done. She rarely took no for an answer. In addition to being very intelligent, she was also artistically gifted. Arlene wasn’t always serious though. She knew how to have fun too! She was the life of the party and could make people laugh. That’s the way most of us will remember her.
Arlene is survived by her three sisters: Phyllis, Carol and Pearl Ann; son, Jeff Bolton; daughter, Lora (Bolton) Becker and 4 grandchildren: Andie, Charlie, Katie and Eddie.
