ARLENE M.  SCHLENGER , 93, of Cherokee, Iowa, passed away Saturday morning, July 6, 2019 in the Cherokee Specialty Care.

Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, July 9 ^th at 11 a.m. at the St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Cherokee, Iowa. Rev. Cris Decious will officiate.  Private burial of the cremains will be in the Oak Hill Cemetery prior to the memorial service on Tuesday. There will be no visitation. The Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa is assisting the family with the arrangements. Online condolences can be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com

Arlene was born on June 11, 1926 at Paullina, Iowa to George & Mabel (Mesner) Gottsche Sr. She was raised in Paullina and then graduated from Cleghorn High School in 1945. She was married to Lorne Schlenger on June 13, 1946 at the Cleghorn Presbyterian Church. She spent her early married years as a full time mother. She later worked for the Central Trust and Savings Bank for ten years and as bookkeeper for Midwest Oil in Remsen, Iowa for 12 years, retiring in 1993. She had been a resident of Cherokee since 1995 and prior to this had lived in Remsen, Iowa for several years.

Arlene did a lot of volunteer work in the nursing homes. She was a member of the St. Paul's United Methodist Church. Her church work took a lot of her time from janitor to serving on the board, Sunday School teacher, Bible School teacher, sang in the choir for over 60 years. She was a circle member, President of the U.M.W. several times, served on the church finance committee of which she was secretary and treasurer for 15 years.

Arlene loved to dance, go bowling, a good game of cards, especially bridge in the later years, doing handwork for her grandchildren and great grandchildren, enjoyed baking and taking things to the Cherokee County Fair. She knitted caps for the newborn babies at the hospital.

She was preceded in death by her parents, a daughter Cinda Lee in 1948, her husband Lorne in 1992, two sisters Evanelle (Lorne) Thoms and Delores Smith, one brother George (Doris) Gottsche Jr., brother-in-law Harold Hazen.

She is survived by her three sons: Tim (Janelle) Schlenger of Ericson, Nebraska; Tom (Linda) Schlenger of Indianapolis, Indiana; Tod (Karen) Schlenger of Spencer, Iowa; 10 grandchildren; 20 great grandchildren; two great great grandchildren; two sisters: Anita Hazen of LeMars, Iowa; Shirley (LeRoy) Pedersen of Spirit Lake, Iowa; brother-in-law: Donald Smith of Aurelia, Iowa; several nieces and nephews, many cousins and a host of friends.