PIERRE, SD –

Arlene Truax was greeted at her celestial home by her husband, Al and grandson, Jeremy, along with family and friends on October 21, 2023. She passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family.

Memorial service will be 1pm on Friday, November 3, 2023 at Lutheran Memorial in Pierre.

Inurnment will be in Riverside Cemetery.

Arlene Fern Moe was born January 6, 1941 to Joseph and May (Nelson) Moe on the family farm in Maine Township, Adams County, North Dakota. She was the youngest of four children and attended Hettinger Public Schools through her sophomore year and later received her GED. Arlene met her husband Alvin “Al” at a dance in Haynes, North Dakota and after a brief courtship they were married in Rapid City, South Dakota on April 17, 1957. They lived a short time in Lemmon, South Dakota and moved to Fort Pierre, South Dakota, returning home to Lemmon and finally in 1965 they moved to Pierre, South Dakota where they made their forever home.

Arlene worked for the City Cafe in Hettinger, North Dakota, the Lemmon Bowling Alley Cafe, Ben Franklin Store and Super Value Grocery. Upon moving to Fort Pierre she was employed by the Chuck Wagon Restaurant. Spanning her time in Pierre, she was a meter-maid for the City of Pierre, a dietary-aid for St. Mary’s Hospital, an in-home daycare provider and in 1975 joined JC Penney as a retail associate, retiring after 30 years of service in 2005.

She served as a Cub Scout Den Mother in Lemmon, and an election board worker and volunteer at the Hospice Thrift Store in Pierre. Arlene was a life-long member of the Lutheran Memorial Church where her children received their confirmation and Al and she renewed their wedding vows in celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary. She was a member of the Church’s Wednesday Quilters group and the WELCA Committee.

Arlene was a private and quiet person, strong-willed and stoic as she battled neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer for nine-years. She created countless unforgettable memories which will live on with her children, Monte (Kimberly), Robert (Anna) and Loretta (Shelly), her grandchildren Chadrick, Crystal (Adam), Roxie (Greg), Ryan (Danielle), great-grandchildren Kadence, Jackson, Ryder, Knox, Genevieve, Autumn and Nash.

She was preceded in death by her late husband, Al (2023), grandson, Jeremy (1995), her parents, and her siblings Gladys, Marvin and Vernon. She would say “Don’t cry because I am gone – SMILE because I was here.”

Arrangements are with Isburg Funeral Chapel in Pierre.

“WHAT SHE LOVES”

Arlene loved being married to Al, her husband of 66-years, her children, Monte, Robert and Loretta and their spouses Kim, Anna and Shelly. She loved her grandchildren, Jeremy, Chad, Crystal, Roxie and Ryan and their spouses Adam, Greg and Danielle. She loved her great-grandchildren, Kadence, Jackson, Ryder, Knox, Genevieve, Autumn and Nash. She loved her mother, May, and her father, Joe and her siblings, Gladys, Marvin and Vern, her in-laws and her many nieces and nephews. She loved drop-in visits from all her friends and neighbors. Arlene loved playing cards, jigsaw and crossword puzzles, sharing Christmas with family, traveling and her most recent trip to Branson, Missouri with her husband, her children and their spouses. She loved cheering on the Denver Broncos, and watching her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren participating in school activities, sports and recitals. She loved watching her great-grandchildren playing dress-up and listening to their giggles, her JC Penney coffee group, her quilting group at Lutheran Memorial Church and her church family, sewing for family, making quilts and crocheting baby blankets for her grandchildren. She loved bingo, collecting Cherished Teddies, reading a good book, bowling, orange Tootsie Pops and Oreo cookies, listening to Sunday church service on the radio, her bible study group, decorating and dressing-up for Halloween and Christmas, trick-or-treating with her grandchildren, and helping Al plan his outfits for Crazy Daze. She loved flowers from her husband and family and her flower bed, intimate suppers with her children, watching Blue Bloods and Dancing with the Stars and the Jerry Lewis Telethon, making lefsa and potato dumplings with her mother, cooking for her husband and making her family’s favorite meals and treats, including her famous peanut butter chocolate-star cookies, almond bark drops, strawberry salad and jello-cake. She loved having barbeques and homemade chip dip on Christmas Eve, Facebook and playing games on her iPad, swimming at the pool with grandkids, bean bag tournaments at family gatherings, holding new babies, seeing her children’s milestones, planning family reunions, helping at weddings and graduations, surprise family visits, volunteering at the hospice store and being an election board worker with her friend Lois Van Ash, caramel rolls at the Bistro and breakfast at Perkins, peach cobblers from the Zesto, trips to the casino. Arlene loved having her fingernails painted by Roxie, “Girl Days”, shopping, a head tilt, a warm day, a beautiful sunset, a hug and a SMILE. AND Arlene was loved.

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