- Date Of Birth: April 14, 1920
- Date Of Death: October 13, 2014
- State: Iowa
As a child Arlene lived “in Whitebreast Township Lucas Co. until 3rd grade”.
Arlene walked to Plympton Country School through third grade and later rode or drove a horse to Prairie View in Jackson Township. She attended Norwood Community School her first two years of high school. There she met Loren Schilling. Arlene moved in with Wayne and Eulala Wallace, her older sister and sister’s husband, to help with housework and to finish high school at North High in Des Moines, Iowa. Her “Musings of a 1937 graduate” follow:
Lived in a one room apt.? at 1430 8th St. Des Moines. Worked as
cashier for the Schiff Shoe Co. located in The Globe Dept. Store 5th &
Walnut. Salary $16.00 wk. Room rent $3.50 wk. Groceries, street car & clothing came from balance.
At this time a very nice dress was $15.00. Most dresses 9.00 or 10.00. Purses 1.00. Shoes 7.00.
The Globe burned down. Worked for an exclusive dress shop (Their regular cashier was off for surgery) then dept. store rebuilt and went back to Schiff shoe.
A major purchase was a winter coat. Remember the coat (a blk chesterfield with off center closing) can’t remember price.
Loren worked on farms for $25.00 mo. Worked for Walter Clothier
and Riley Marker. When we were married we lived in 3 rooms of the Roy Allen house and worked for him. 30.50 in the summer and 25.00
mon. in winter. We also got a hog for meat. Made payments on a ’34 Ford V.8.
Arlene was united in marriage to Loren Steven Schilling June 29, 1940.
She was at home full-time until December of 1963 when she started work as
a checkout clerk at the Hy-Vee store on the corner of the Chariton Square. She was promoted to bookkeeper. She retired from Hy-Vee in April of 1985. Arlene and Loren enjoyed their country, retirement home on the bike trail east of Derby.
Arlene was preceded in death by her husband Loren; her parents; her sisters, Eulala Wallace (Eulala’s husband, Wayne) and Barbara Ratermann (Barbara’s husband, Mark); her brother, Keith Arnold (Keith’s wife, Kay); her son-in-law, Walter E. (Gene) Shanks.
She is survived by: her children, Mary and husband Terry Lister of Bloomfield, Martha Shanks of Derby, and Dr. Tom Schilling and wife Linda of Corydon; her sister, Burnetta Wood and husband Wayne of Sun City, Arizona; 9 grandchildren; 17 great grandchildren; other relatives and friends.
