Obituary: Arlene Schroder

As received from the Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home:

Arlene Agnes Schroder, 87, of Ahmeek, MI, passed away peacefully, Saturday, 9/11/2021, after battling cancer. Arlene Rantanen was born 7/15/1934 to Ingrid and Henry Rantanen, and was raised in Osceola, MI. She graduated from Calumet High School in 1952 and attended Suomi College for a year. Arlene worked for Michigan Tech for a time, was a teller for First of America Bank in Mohawk, and a clerk for the Department of Social Services, in Hancock, before retiring. Arlene was a fierce Scrabble player, avid reader and had a special skill for making a home cozy and lovely. When she became a single mother she strove to have her family want for nothing, including taking four children camping (complete with bacon and pancake breakfasts.) She made sure they all attended college. The Schroder home was filled with drama, boisterous laughter and always many close friends.

Arlene had four children, David, Dale and Daniel Schroder, and Beth Rayner. She is preceded in death by Dale, lost in a tragic boating accident in 2010, and shares her passing from this world with her son Dan, on the same day, 9/11/2021. She was also preceded in death by her sister Genevieve Kinnunen. She is survived by brothers Henry Rantanen and Robert Seppala, and sister, Dorothy Poyhonen, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Arlene was a grandmother to nine grandchildren: Vicki Pacheco, Maria Aguilar and Brandon Schroder; Joshua Rayner and Emily Woodward; Erik and Kristin Schroder; and Evan and Cooper Schroder. Arlene also had nine great-grandchildren: Irma, Christina and Rebecca Escalante; Alex and Daniel Barba and Vianney Aguilar; Juniper and Oscar Woodward; and Grayson Schroder. Her three great-great-grandchildren are Aaron, Jaziel and Evelyn Pin᷉on.

There will be an 11:00 AM service for Arlene Schroder at Calvary Cemetery in Ahmeek, on Saturday, September 25, immediately followed by a memorial service to celebrate the lives of Arlene and Dan Schroder at Allouez Township Community Center, 388 Bumbletown Road, Allouez, MI. A light lunch will be served. Dan will have funeral services in Coeur d’ Alene, ID at a time and place to be announced later.