Arlene Rose Weaver, daughter of Louis and Rose (Michl) Weaver, was born on the farm in Saline County, seven miles east of Milligan, on April 9, 1931. The farm was on the Tobias mail route. She passed away Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020, at Tabatha Nursing and Rehabilitation Care Center in Lincoln at the age of 89 years, 7 months and 16 days.
Arlene was the youngest of five children and grew up on the family farm. She attended Saline County rural school Dist. 77 (Opossum Hill) for eight years and attended Milligan High School, graduating with the class of 1948. When she was a child, Arlene always said that when she grew up she was going to be a teacher. When she played with dolls, kittens and puppies, they were always her pupils. When one animal left her, there was always one more to take their place.
She took Normal (teacher) training courses while attending Milligan High School and started teaching at the age of 17. She taught Saline County rural school Dist. 67 (Atlanta Center) for six years and Saline County rural school Dist. 77 (Opossum Hill) for two years. She then taught the first and second grades in the Milligan Public School for seven years. During this time, she attended summer sessions at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1960 and her Masters of Elementary Education degree in 1963. In the fall of 1963, she started teaching the second grade in the Lincoln Elementary school in Hastings. She taught there for two years. Besides attending summer sessions at the University of Kansas, she was granted a leave of absence for one semester from the Hastings Public Schools to continue attending the University of Kansas to earn a Specialist of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 1968. She returned to Hastings and was a reading specialist in the Hastings Public Schools for nine years. Arlene was the primary caregiver to her parents as they became more unable. Her mother passed away Nov. 13, 1964, and her father passed away Aug. 14, 1974.
After her parents both passed, she was granted a year leave of absence from the Hastings Public School to complete the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Elementary Education in 1975 at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. She then taught elementary education courses and supervised student teachers at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, for four years. Arlene returned to Nebraska and had the same duties at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont for the next 18 years. She was promoted to full professorship in 1992. She retired in 1997 after teaching a total of 48 years.
Arlene went to most of the 48 states, Canada and Mexico during the summers with study tours conducted by the Kearney State Teachers College, which later became the University of Nebraska at Kearney. After she retired, she continued to travel to the remaining states so she was able to complete the goal of visiting all 50 states.
Arlene was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, David Weaver and his wife Grace; her brother, Clarence Weaver and his widow Betty Weaver Bredemeyer; her sister, Ruby Rooney and her husband John; her sister, Dorothy Rezny and her husband Norman; and her half-brother, Lonnie Weaver and his wife Katherine. She is survived by nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be conducted at a later date. She will be laid to rest next to her parents at Andrew Cemetery, Friend. Memorial contributions are suggested in lieu of flowers to Tabitha Nursing and Rehabilitation Center or the Milligan Fire Department. Condolences may be left for the family at www.lauberfh.com.
