Tunbridge, Vt. —
She was the youngest of nine children of Silvester H. and Etta M. (Webster) Howe, she was born March 24, 1932, in Tunbridge. She attended the South Tunbridge one-room grade school and in 1950 graduated from South Royalton High School in South Royalton, Vt.
On Nov. 11, 1957, she married Elmer “Tex” DeLue, Jr. of Marion, N.Y. They made their home in Tunbridge and divorced in 1971. On April 15, 1973, she married Howard L. Stockwell, Sr. of Tunbridge. Howard and Arlene made their home in the village and worked together for many years. They worked at the Tunbridge Central School where Arlene was the the school’s hot lunch cook and helped Howard with his custodial duties, they mowed lawns which included the Tunbridge cemeteries and were the caretakers of the Tunbridge Congregational Church and Town Hall. Howard died Oct. 5, 1990.
Arlene was the cook for the South Royalton Area Senior Citizens for many years and she won many blue ribbons at the Tunbridge World’s Fair for her cakes, donuts and pies. She was the caretaker of the Tunbridge Town Hall, a position which she enjoyed scheduling all the social events.
Arlene enjoyed sending cards, writing letters and calling her many friends and family members. She liked making evergreen wreaths for town events or giving them away as Christmas gifts. She enjoyed singing in the church choir and the annual minstrel show, weaving baskets, picnics and camp fires with family and friends, playing cards, going out to eat and attending the Senior Citizen meals.
She was a member of the South Tunbridge Methodist Church, South Royalton Area Senior Citizens, Tunbridge Civic Club, Tunbridge Historical Society, Saturday Sewing Circle and a trustee board member for the Chelsea Area Senior Citizen Center. She was a shareholder of the Union Agricultural Society known as the Tunbridge World’s Fair.
Survivors include her two step-sons, Chester “Chet” Stockwell of Bradford, Vt. and Howard “Lenny” Stockwell Jr. of Braintree, Vt.; three step-daughters, Mabel Kennedy of Chelsea, Vt., Alice Massaglia of Derry, N.H. and Ruth Stearns of Cambridge, N.Y.; a brother and sister-in-law, Dr. Harry E. and Theo Howe of Lebanon, N.H.; a sister-in-law, Emily A. Howe of Tunbridge; and many grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
She is predeceased by her parents; her husband, Howard L. Stockwell Sr.; a daughter-in-law, Elaine Stockwell; a step-son, Louis Stockwell; two step-daughters, Doris Howe and Thora Stockwell; four brothers, Merle W. Howe, Ralph S. Howe, Ernest L. Howe and Clyde W. Howe and three sisters, Grace M. Howe, Eleanora A. Frink and Lillian M. Howe.
Calling hours will be held Monday, June 13, 2016 at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Boardway & Cilley Funeral Home in Chelsea, Vt. A funeral service will be held Tuesday, June 14, 2016 at 1 p.m. at the Tunbridge Congregational Church in Tunbridge with Rev. Jo Shelnutt officiating. The burial will be held at the Village Cemetery in Tunbridge.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Tunbridge Church, c/o Euclid Farnham, 24 The Crossroad, Tunbridge, VT 05077.
A private message of sympathy for the family can be shared at www.boardwayandcilley.com.