Obituary of Arlene Walker

Arlene Mae Walker, age 78, of Sanborn, Iowa, died February 28, 2014. She was born November 5, 1935, in Buffalo Center, Iowa, to Meinert and Mary (Winter) Stratman. They soon after moved to northwest Iowa where Arlene was raised on the family farm with her three younger siblings. The family attended a country Baptist church where services in German were gradually replaced with all-English services. She attended country school through eighth grade and graduated from Little Rock High School in 1953. Arlene attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. She began her elementary teaching career in Melvin, Iowa, and soon after started dating John Walker. They were married July 30, 1957, and lived in the Melvin area. After taking time off to raise her two sons, Arlene returned to college and received her bachelors degree from Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, in 1978. The family moved to Hartley, Iowa the following year. Arlene was a public school substitute teacher and also taught English to children of immigrants in the Hartley district until her retirement. She stayed active as a writer by attending conferences and was published in numerous publications, including The Sanborn Pioneer. Besides teaching and writing, her talents included cooking, sewing and arranging flowers for competition at the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa. Arlene attended New Hope Evangelical Free Church in Orange City, Iowa, where she coordinated scripture readings. One of the highlights of her recent service was a missions trip to Haiti during which she developed a love for, and relationship with, several Hatian people that continued after her return. She is survived by her two sons, Carson Walker, of Sioux Falls, S.D., and Barry (Tami) Walker, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; five grandchildren, Samuel, Ethan, Ellie and Sawyer, of Sioux Falls, and Andrew, of Council Bluffs; two brothers, George (Carolyn) Stratman, of George, Iowa, and Fred (Wanda) Stratman, of Sheldon, Iowa; and one sister, Thelma Razor, of Ankeny, Iowa. She is preceded in death by her parents and husband, John, who died in 2006.