Generous, joyful and gracious, Arlene Zacher Miner brightened her world with a welcoming smile that warmed other's worlds as well. On Monday, January 2, 2023, Arlene passed away at age 88, surrounded by the love of her family.
Arlene created a home that the neighborhood kids were drawn to: to swim in the pool, jump off the rope-swing into piles of leaves, cook in her kitchen and sleep overnight in the treehouse. Others knew her welcoming nature from the inclusiveness that was always happy to take in one more new-to-the-area person for Thanksgiving, even if it meant the feast was enjoyed around the ping pong table!
A broad range of skills and interests helped Arlene navigate and appreciate so many of life's pleasures. She delighted in identifying bird and tree species and always kept nature guides and binoculars close at hand in a kitchen drawer. She read widely, loved photographing nature and regularly skunked all others at card games. As a young wife and mother in the '50s and '60s, she cooked and baked from scratch, and, true to her generation, mastered the art of jello recipes in the '70s! She sewed, tended plants and flowers, and with her husband, Bill, took her kids camping across the US and later, rafting down the Colorado River. And she did it all with an effortless, sparkling "Doris Day" beauty, for which she never sought attention.
Arlene's giving personality and abundant energy drew her towards many forms of volunteering: leading the Girl Scout troop, assisting the League of Women Voters, the Garden Club and serving in the Christian Science churches where she was a member in the many towns in which she lived.
A sense of adventure, trust and independence was central to Arlene's 53-year marriage to William (Bill) H. Miner. They met in their high school junior English class at Principia Upper School in
St Louis, MO, and were married five years later in Arlene's hometown of Chicago. Life together centered on loving one another, their children and their church.
After individual careers, Arlene and Bill joined together to run a travel business, helping others to do what they valued – connecting with family and friends and exploring and appreciating the world. In retirement, they took time to play together, selling their home and hitting the road to explore the United States in a motor coach for seven years, making friends wherever the road took them.
Arlene was predeceased by her son, Tommy, and her lifelong sweetheart Bill. She is survived by her Miner children: Doug, Steve, Polly (Mahoney) and Sally (Walters), and her nine grandchildren.
A celebration of the light-filled lives of both Arlene and Bill will occur this spring at Queeny Park in St. Louis County. The family looks forward to dedicating a bench and tree in their honor and reminiscing with friends and family over a breakfast picnic, which was one of Arlene and Bill's favorite ways to celebrate.