Arlene Flocken Reynolds

Arlene Flocken Reynolds (Arlene L. Flocken, Arlene L. Finch) passed on to eternal peace in the arms of her loving daughter at their home in Hilliard, Ohio, July 5, 2020; age 93. Born May 29, 1927 in Northfield, MA, Arlene was preceded in death by husbands Milton H. Flocken and John V. Reynolds. Also preceding Arlene are her parents Cortland and Sarah Finch and her dear uncle Donald Finch. She is survived by her brothers Carleton (Zeke) Finch (Arline – deceased), Edwin W. Finch (Rena) and sister Ellen Flewelling (Erwin). She is also survived by her children, Robert K. Flocken (Cherye), Paul D. Flocken, Annette L. Salser (Thomas) and Louis C. Flocken (Jennifer). She loved and adored her ten grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren and countless nieces and nephews.

As a youth, Arlene learned to worship and love God with all her heart, mind and soul, and to serve and love her neighbor. Her motivation to serve and care developed into a lifelong passion. Her faith journey also led her to meet her future husband, Milton, at a high school youth fellowship retreat.

While she waited three years for Milton to complete his tour of duty in the Navy during and right after World War II, she completed her secondary education at Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies (now Northfield Mount Herman), and she attended Bates College, Lewiston, ME. Upon Milton's return, they were married and began their life together at Wesleyan University, located in Middleton, Connecticut, where he earned his master's degree in English.

In 1954 Milton accepted a faculty position at Columbus Academy in Ohio, and the young family of Milton, Arlene, Bob, Paul and Annette moved away from their New England roots to establish their lives in central Ohio. Along with the strong relationships developed with Columbus Academy faculty and parents, Arlene and Milton developed similar meaningful relationships with the members of First Congregational Church. Louis, their fourth child, was born and joined the family. A quintessential post war cracker box home was purchased, solidifying the family’s attachment to the community. Milton and Arlene's future looked bright.

Sadly, Milton acquired lung cancer in 1957. He passed away just two months after the diagnosis. Arlene was embraced by the Columbus Academy and First Congregational Church communities during this devastating time. With their love and support caring for the children and assisting in a variety of other ways, Arlene was able to move on and establish herself as an independent professional woman. Even as she worked and cared for the family, she attended night school at Capital University, earning her bachelor's degree in early childhood education. As a result of her Capital degree, her future Ohio State master’s degree in early childhood development and her work experience, Arlene became known as an expert in the field.

Arlen began her career in early childhood education and development as the director of the first interracial nursery school in Columbus at First Church and she was one of the first cadre of Head Start teachers of this national program. After several years as a teacher, Arlene became a child development counselor at Children's Hospital Guidance Center, supporting the advancement of high-quality daycare programs and providing child development counseling services for parents. During this time, she helped start "Action for Children," a preschool advocacy program that continues to this day to support daycare programs and provide central Ohio parents with child care referral services.

Her faith and participation at First Congregational flourished through the years and, with the support of husband John Reynolds (married 1970), her service to the central Ohio community grew exponentially. She provided leadership for mission work of the church through a wide variety of initiatives, most notably "Bethlehem on Broad Street," an annual Christmas celebration for area under-served residents. She supported the building of more than 60 Habitat for Humanity homes and she helped refugees from around the world establish their lives in central Ohio through the Church World Service Interfaith Refugee Task Force. Arlene was involved in several interfaith initiatives and with social justice programs such as "BREAD."

Although always modest and deferring the success of her work to God, she was recognized with a variety of community services awards. A few include the Columbus Metropolitan Area Church Council's "Living Faith Award," the Columbus Dispatch "Highest Community Service Award" (now called the Jefferson Award), the Columbus Dispatch "Service Award for Ecumenical Action" and the central Ohio YWCA “Woman of Achievement” award. She also received "The Chapel of Four Chaplains' Legions of Honor Award," a national award given in in recognition of a lifetime of volunteer work and giving beyond self.

All her life, Arlene enjoyed traveling and camping, taking her family on adventures throughout New England and Canada, staying in close touch with her family and visiting her many friends throughout the United States. With John Reynolds, she extended her travels to Europe, meeting Johnny's family in Ireland and researching Flocken family ancestry in Germany. She attended every Finch family reunion after the triennial event began in 1985 and often visited New England in the interim years.

As the years passed, Arlene's physical energy waned, but her mental and emotional energy barely faded. She continued her leadership of Bethlehem on Broad Street into her 80's and, with the help of Army retired son Paul, attended First Church regularly and participated in adult education classes. She sat the end of the same pew every Sunday with her fellow octogenarian and nonagenarian friends. Members lined up at that pew before and after worship to greet her and return the love she gave to the church and members for so many years.

In her final few years, her vision and mobility declined and she ran her life from her bed with the support of her personal computer, IPad, iPhone and the Zoom web program. These technological resources enabled her to stay involved with her family, friends, church and charities.

The number of lives that Arlene impacted is incalculable. She will be missed.

Arlene's friends are invited to pay their respects during calling hours, Saturday, July 11, 2 – 5 p.m. at the Schoedinger Worthington Chapel, 6699 North High St.

A memorial service will be held Tuesday, July 28, 1:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 444 East Broad St, Columbus. Due to the current COVID pandemic, attendance at the church is limited to family and close friends. However, the service will be available for viewing on Zoom. Please contact Annette Salser at [email protected] to express your interest in attending the service at the church or for the Zoom meeting information.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to First Congregational Church in her memory. She loved the beautiful stained glass windows of the church, pouring their colorful light into the sanctuary. A donation to the Stained Glass Preservation Fund will support the flow of Arlene's "eternal light" into the church every day. Or, please donate to the Mission Endowment Fund, so her life's work of service will continue into perpetuity.

Send a check to the church at 444 E. Broad St., Columbus, 43215 with the fund information and Arlene’s name in the memo line. OR, donate online at first-church.org. Click on the “Give” tab and then the “PayPal” icon. Enter the donation amount and note the fund information and Arlene’s name in the message line.