Arlene Marie (Rehome) Beuning

Arlene Marie Beuning passed away peacefully of natural causes at her home October 5th at the age of 94.

Arlene was born July 9th, 1927 in Reynolds Township, Todd County, Minnesota, the sixth child of George and Edna Rehome.  She grew up there on a farm graduating from nearby  Browerville High School in 1945.  After high school she left for the big city of St. Paul to live with an older sister.  She took a job at Western Electric, soldering together telephone parts.  The plan was to earn enough money to go to college and become a teacher.

Those plans changed when she met fellow employee, and her future husband, Raymond.  They married September 30th, 1950, and were together 59 years, until Raymond’s passing in 2009.

Together they raised 11 children, six boys and five girls.  In 1960 Arlene and Raymond packed up their, then seven, children and moved from Minnesota to Tacoma where they stayed until 1966, welcoming four more children into the fold while in their new hometown.  From there they departed for Toronto, Canada, remaining north of the border until 1969.  The next stop on their journey together would be Crystal Lake, Illinois. The family resided in the town, just outside Chicago, until 1971 when they returned to Tacoma where they would remain.

From an early age Arlene was an avid reader, never too far from a book, magazine or the newspaper. She enjoyed crossword puzzles, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!  She also loved to listen to a ball game on the radio, particularly the Mariners with her favorite player Edgar Martinez.   She also loved to host her large family at holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas and she enjoyed a losing battle with the small herd of deer that constantly ate away at her flowers.

After her children were grown, she returned to the workforce and was employed at the Westgate Nursing Home until her retirement.

Besides her beloved husband Raymond, she was preceded in death by her youngest child, Gregory John who died in infancy, her grandson Nathan, both her parents and her brothers Kenneth, Flavian, Byron and Fritz and sisters Dorothy and Catherine.

She leaves behind her surviving eleven children.  From oldest to youngest they are Dennis, Chuck, Frank, Mary, David, Diane, Kevin, Janice, Thom, Debbie and Donna.  Additionally, she is survived by thirteen grandchildren; Jessica, Charlotte, Christopher, Kim, Marc, Derek, Todd, Ryan, Conner, Heather, Tyler, Kelsey and Dane, her four great grandchildren, Elly, Dylan, MacKenzie and Hadley and her godson Earl.

As well she is survived by her daughters-in-law Monika, Elaine, Ivy, Rene’ and Chris, her son-in-law Steve, sister-in-law Mary Frances and countless nieces, nephews and her wonderful neighbors.

The family would like to give a special thank you to Franciscan Hospice Care, especially Arlene’s hospice nurse Pai, an angel sent from heaven.  They would also like to thank her CNA Julie, Winnie and Helen from Family Best Care and Andrea, her Nurse Practitioner at the Franciscan Clinic in University Place.    Together their care allowed Arlene to remain in her home to live out her final months surrounded by family.