Arlean Pearl Kagel was born on February 11, 1926, in Albany, New York. She was given the name Augusta, apparently in a hurry. Her parents, Harry and Helen (Samowitz) Kagel, realizing that such a name could be a mistake for a girl, renamed her Adeline. Having anxiety about that name, her parents settled on Arlean, which became her legal name. She lived briefly in Brooklyn and then on a farm in upstate New York with her Mother’s parents close by. She had two older brothers, Edward who was born in 1916, and Raymond who was born in 1921. They left home when she was young. She later had a little sister, Beatrice, who was born in 1933. She attended a one room school house in Germantown, New York. She was one of six students to graduate from Tivoli High School in 1944. She was admitted to nursing school and became a member of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps in September 1944. She flew for over 11 hours in a DC-2 to get to Tucson, Arizona, where she attended the School of Nursing at St. Mary’s Hospital which was run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. She obtained her nursing credentials in Arizona. She loved Tucson and the Arizona desert. However, after graduating from St. Mary’s in 1947, she moved to be with her parents and her sister who had relocated to Hollywood, Florida. She would spend the rest of her life in South Florida. After a very brief marriage she was a single mother to a daughter, Bonnie Grace, who she was raising with the help of her parents when she met the handsome, ten years older Philip Jenks, at a Passover Seder, through mutual friends. They married in 1956, and ultimately had a “yours, mine, and ours” blended family with Arlean’s daughter, Bonnie Grace, who Philip legally adopted, Philip’s two sons, Michael and Richard, and his stepson, Hobert, from Philip’s prior marriage. Together, Arlean and Philip had a daughter, Debra, and a son, David. In addition to being a homemaker, mother, step-mother, working as a nurse, and becoming a caretaker for her own mother, Helen, Arlean was also an avid writer and poet. Arlean went back to school and in 1972 earned an Associate of Arts Degree with a Major in English and a Minor in Journalism from Miami-Dade Community College. She graduated with Honors. In 1975, Arlean obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Science from Florida International University and was on the Dean’s List. Arlean was committed to the Jewish faith despite challenges along the way in her path of life which she wrote about. She became very involved with her local Synagogue especially after the deaths of her Mother in December 1980 and her husband Philip in March 1981, when she was just 55 years old. She lived on her own for many years until 2013 when, due to mobility issues, she was moved to a nursing home in West Palm Beach very near to her daughter Debra and son-in-law Bob who, with the help of outsourced aides, did the best they could to take care of her. She remained in good spirits despite her long tenure in a nursing home and declining physical health. She was a very kind, gentle soul who will be greatly missed by those who loved her, including nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
