Arlene Elsie (Schultz) Schlatter died peacefully in her sleep during the early hours of Thursday, December 19, 2013, at her daughter and son-in-law’s home in Apple Valley, Minnesota. She was 91.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, December 21, 2013, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hawkeye with Rev. David R. Nelson and Rev. Jamie Thompson officiating. Interment will follow at Hawkeye Cemetery.  Lunch will be served at the church at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and visitation will precede the service from 1:30 p.m. until service time. Becker-Milnes Funeral Home in Hawkeye is assisting the family.       

The daughter of John and Theresa Schultz, Arlene was born October 17, 1922, in Bethel Township of rural Fayette County, Iowa. She was baptized November 5, 1922, by Rev. Westenberger, and later confirmed by Rev. Kraemer, both at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hawkeye, where she was a member for most of her life. She attended Bethel Township No. 5 rural school in her early years, and graduated from Hawkeye High School in 1940.

On June 24, 1943, she was united in marriage at Trinity Lutheran with Donald Carl Schlatter, son of Carl and Eleanora (Guenther) Schlatter of Bethel Township. They had two children: Allan, born April 21, 1944; and Betty, born April 1, 1948. Arlene and Donald farmed south and west of Hawkeye for many years before moving to town in 1965. He died on August 30, 1988, spending the last 33 years of his life in a wheelchair due to multiple sclerosis.

After leaving the family farm, Arlene worked in the café in Hawkeye, did volunteer work for the MS Society, and ran the annual Red Cross Blood Drive for more than 10 years. In 2002, she relocated from Hawkeye to Apple Valley, just south of Minneapolis/Saint Paul, where she lived for the remaining years of her life, the last four with her daughter and son-in-law, Dick Schaaf. She was a member and benefactor of Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Lakeville, MN.

Arlene was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her brother, Melvin Schultz. She is survived by her son and daughter, five grandchildren (Kurt Schlatter, Sara Steinkamp, Craig Schlatter, Michael Schaaf, and Matthew Schaaf), and nine great-grandchildren (Keaton Schlatter; Austin, Brittany, and Carissa Steinkamp; Taylor and Zachary Schlatter; and Brandon, Kyle, and Ryan Schaaf).