Her family loved her so very much and she will be greatly missed, however, there is comfort in knowing that she is now home with her Lord and Savior.
Born in Glen Cove, Maine on March 6, 1921, to Henry and Lena Tominski. Arlene attended school in Rockport and graduated as valedictorian of her class.
During her years in school she became an avid pianist. She was the person the music teachers turned to for both singing and playing the piano. To her delight, she later played piano for the Rockland music station, WRKD, for a while. She was also a gifted organist and played for several churches and many weddings over the years. She played the piano up until about two weeks before her passing while at the Evergreen Manor and entertained the other residents. Her love of the piano never diminished.
After graduation from high school she was hired as a seamstress for VanBalans clothing factory in Rockland. During that time she became a union steward for Local 371C. She was a friend to all and her coworkers often went to her for answers as well as comfort in times of need. She retired after 50 years of dedicated work, rarely missing a day.
During the early 1960’s, her family became caretakers for Helen Martin who owned Lasalle Island, which is located off the coast of Camden. This provided her with the unique opportunity to enjoy the ocean, operating boats, digging clams, and keeping a garden on the island where she resided for many summers. It was not uncommon for her to swim a couple of miles on a nice day.
In the mid-1960’s, she married Wallace Arey and enjoyed many good years with him. He passed away in 1975. She never fully recovered from the loss of Wallace but she continued to be the very fiber of her family.
In 1981, she moved to Saco to be near her son, Steven, and granddaughters, Malissa and Kathy.
Throughout her years she also enjoyed drawing portraits, which consisted of people, flowers, and landscape scenes. She always had a green thumb and never went without beautiful flower beds and vegetable gardens. She was an active lady who also enjoyed cooking, knitting, and would do the crossword puzzles in the newspaper each day. Her love of animals never ceased and most recently enjoyed spending time with her son’s dog, Max.
She developed Alzheimer’s in early 2000. She was eventually moved to assisted living at Biddeford Estates in 2009. She resided there until the spring of 2015 at which time she had to transfer to Evergreen Manor for more intensive care.
She was preceded in death by: her first husband, Philip Wood; and by her second husband, Wallace Arey.
She is survived by: her son, Steven Wood and his wife Linda of Saco; her sister, Doris Knowlton of Swansville; along with her two nephews and one niece.
She is also survived by: her granddaughters, Malissa and her husband Ryan Howe of Biddeford, and Kathy and her husband Ryan Maloney of Saco; and her greatgrandchildren, Maeghen and Andrew Howe, and Zachary and Christian Maloney; and one grandson; Jeff Martin of Saco.
Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17 at Cote Funeral Home, 87 James St., Saco. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m., Friday, Dec. 18, at Cote Funeral Home. Burial will be on Saturday, Dec. 19, in Rockville Cemetery in Rockport.
The family would like to extend many thanks to the caring staff of Evergreen Manor and Gosnell Memorial Hospice House.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Arlene’s name to the Animal Welfare Society, 46 Holland Road, Kennebunk, Maine 04043 or to the Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter, 383 US Route One, Suite 2C, Scarborough, ME 04074.
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