Arlene Staich

Arlene Marie Staich (née Fleischmann) was born on September 30, 1942, in Detroit, Michigan to William G. Fleischmann and Adeline E. Lubanau. She was the youngest of four sisters and the surprise child as her sisters were much older than her (nine, twelve and fifteen years, respectively). She was very much treated as the baby of the family.

As a child, she spent her summers in Elk Rapids, Michigan where her father had bought and cleared land for their summer home; he built the home and outhouse himself. She loved swimming in the lake, boating, fishing, eating old-fashioned milkshakes and malts, and going to the only movie theater in town. Her mother did not know how to drive so they had to walk everywhere. Those were idyllic summers.

Arlene attended and graduated from Southeastern High School in Detroit in 1960. She was mathematically and scientifically inclined at an early age. Given the times, women were encouraged to either be a teacher, an assistant, or a nurse. Arlene decided to be a teacher. Arlene earned her Bachelor of Science in Education (with a major in mathematics and physics) at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in 1964.

As a freshman at EMU, she met her future husband, Stephen Staich, on a blind date over the Thanksgiving school break. Stephen was a student at the University of Michigan. They dated throughout their university years.

Stephen left the Detroit area for Los Angeles to work as an engineer, and Arlene soon followed to teach high school at Corona High School in Corona, California. It was quite adventuresome leaving the state where she had lived her entire life.

They married in Detroit in the summer of 1967 (just before the riots) and moved into their first home, an apartment in Inglewood, California. Arlene found a job teaching math at Yeshiva University High School of Los Angeles, a private school in Beverly Hills. After a year of teaching, she worked at Mattel Toys, applying her math skills to help the company with sales forecasting.

When the job opening arose for a math and physics teacher at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California, which was near their home, Arlene was excited for the opportunity. The school district took a risk on her as she had not taught physics, but they saw her potential. Arlene did not disappoint school administration. She started with one physics class. Before long, word got out and demand for her class soon warranted two physics classes. She was a fun, beloved teacher who encouraged her students to love math, science, and physics.

In 1971 and 1975, Arlene gave birth to her children, and she took a break from her career to raise them. She was a wonderful, hands-on mother. She fostered a love of reading and took her kids to story time at the local Redondo Beach library. She helped them with math and science homework. She was her daughter’s Girl Scouts troop leader. She co-drove the family trailer to visit different national parks in California. One summer, she and her husband took their children in a rented RV across the United States to visit extended family and see key monuments.

Arlene was an active member of St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church. She was a Sunday school teacher and served on St. Katherine’s Parish Council, a leadership board at the church. She imparted her love of God and Jesus to her children.

After her children were old enough to be trusted to not burn the house down, Arlene returned to teaching, and Mira Costa High School was glad to have her back. Demand for her classes grew such that by the time she retired, she taught four physics classes and one advanced placement physics class. She also served as Mira Costa High School’s Academic Decathlon coach as well as the school’s robotics coach.

Arlene was active in the teachers’ union and became their president. After she retired from teaching in 1999, the teachers’ union encouraged Arlene to run for the local school board. She relented and agreed to run in 2003. After many door-to-door conversations, she won. So did the two other candidates who ran together with Arlene. Their goal was to shake things up within the school district, which they did.

Arlene served as a member of the Redondo Beach Unified School District Board of Education from 2003-2011 and its board president from 2003-2005. During her tenure on the school board, Arlene also served on the board of the Southern California Regional Occupational Center, an educational organization that provides Career Technical Education opportunities for high school and adult students. She served as that organization’s board president from 2006-2007 and then again from 2009-2010.

Once Arlene termed out from the school board, she continued her commitment to the Redondo Unified School District by serving on the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee which was tasked with overseeing the appropriate expenditure of a $63 million-dollar bond for Redondo Beach schools. Her commitment to education was unparalleled. She also transmitted this passion for education to her son who is a teacher as well.

In 2005, she fulfilled her life-long dream to return to the lake where she summered as a child by buying a home in Elk Rapids, Michigan. It was there that she got to spend more time with her sisters and her daughter and her daughter’s family during the summers.

After her board positions concluded, Arlene started to split her time between Redondo Beach and Elk Rapids. Continuing her love for the Lord, she and Stephen joined Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church where she served as the church’s stewardship chair for several years.

In addition to her love for education, Arlene was an avid dissectologist. Every time her family sees a puzzle, they will remember her.

She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Stephen Staich, her sisters Audrey Albertson and Barbara Fleischmann, her daughter Laura (Philip Ruedi), her son Andrew (Kelli Brasket) and grandchildren Griffin, Arden, and Audrey. She is preceded in death by her sister Margaret Weitschat and her parents.

To commemorate Arlene’s life, the following services will be held at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, 722 Knob Hill, Redondo Beach:

Visitation/Trisagion Memorial Service on Thursday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m.

Funeral on Friday, April 5 at 11:00 a.m. followed by a Makaria/Mercy Meal.

Interment will take place at 2:30 p.m. at Green Hills LA Memorial Park, 27501 S. Western Avenue, Rancho Palos Verdes.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to one of Arlene’s favorite charities:

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Donate now to St. Jude and help kids fighting cancer - St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org)

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