Arlene A. Mountin

Arlene A. Mountin died peacefully in her Asheville NC home early October 26, 2024. She celebrated her 91st birthday, earlier in the week, with greetings from around the country.
Arlene was born October 21, 1933, in Stevens Point, WI to Harry and Margaret (Rellahan) Merrill. The family moved later to Niagara WI and then to Marinette WI where she graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes High School in 1951. She moved to Milwaukee and earned a registered nursing degree in 1954 at Columbia Hospital. She met and married Gilbert Mountin in 1956 soon after he returned from serving in the US Army in Germany. They were blessed with four children in four years and lived in three homes, all located within a mile. After their children entered school, she returned to Columbia Hospital and worked in the ER, recovery room, cardiac catheterization and finally surgical urology. She retired in 1993 and moved to Asheville NC to be near her daughter and became a fulltime Gram.
Arlene enjoyed family camping, progressing from a tent to a pop-up camper, a "Wings of Shasta" trailer and then, after Gibby died, a seasonal site at Lazy Days Campground in West Bend WI. In retirement she knit hundreds of baby blankets for local charities, attended the Osher Center for Lifelong Learning at UNC Asheville for 18 years and enjoyed water aerobics three times per week until age 89.
She was a devoted Catholic making sure family attended Sunday Mass whether at home or while traveling. She regularly attended weekday Mass, Eucharistic adoration and Benediction, and helped with hospitality, soup kitchen and votive lights.
Arlene is survived by children, John (Judith) of Nagaubo, Puerto Rico, Maureen (Jerry) Quinn of Asheville NC and Joan (Tom) Heinrich of Baxter MN, grandchildren Diego, Xavier and Elena Mountin, Joe (Hannah) Houston, Katie Houston, Ethan (Toni) Wolfe, Chris (Demetra) Heinrich and Madeline (Chad) Anderson, ten great grandchildren, Will, Elsie, Matthias, Sydney, Jasmine, Emmanuel, Leah, Theo (aka Iggy), Augustine and Levon, and sister Joan (Tony) Teo of Palo Alto CA. She is preceded in death by her husband Gilbert (d. 1985), daughter Katherine Mountin Wolfe (d. 2021), parents, and brothers Bill and Jerry.
Mass of Christian burial will tentatively be on Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 2:30 P.M. at St. Eugene Catholic Church, Asheville NC with refreshments following. Burial will tentatively be Saturday, December 7, 2024 at St. Kilian Cemetery, Hartford WI with a gathering to follow. The time for the burial will be added once confirmed. Family and friends are invited to attend.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to FourSeason Hospice and Palliative Care, 571 South Allen Road, Flat Rock, NC 28731.
Groce Funeral Home on Tunnel Road is assisting the family.
LOVE & LIGHT