Arlene Toms

Arlene Toms, age 78, of Baxter, died Saturday, October 7, 2006 at St. Josephs Medical Center in Brainerd. Memorial services will be Friday, October 13, at 11 am, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Brainerd, with Reverend Ivy Borgstrom officiating.
Arlene Frances Holthusen was born February 3, 1928 in Lyon County, Iowa, to William and Frieda (Junge) Holthusen. She graduated from Central Lyon High School in Rock Rapids, Iowa. She was united in marriage to Donald Toms on February 3, 1949, in Rock Rapids. The couple moved to Luverne, where Arlene was a homemaker. After being widowed in 1979, Arlene worked as a Nursing Assistant in Luverne and Willmar. She moved to Brainerd in 1989 and then into an apartment in Baxter in 1993. She was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Brainerd, and was active in the Martha circle and the sewing club. She was a past-member of the Eagles, the American Legion, and the VFW Auxiliary. She enjoyed sewing, knitting, and crocheting.

Arlene is survived by her children, Robert (Marie) Toms, Albia, IA and Susan LeSage, Grand Portage; her daughter-in-law, Darla Toms, Brainerd; her siblings, Lucille Riplay, Luverne, Vernon Holthusen and Virgil Holthusen, both of Rock Rapids, IA; her brother-in-law, Harley Meiburg, Avord, IA; eleven grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her son, Douglas Toms; her son-in-law, Peter LeSage; and her siblings, Selma Meiburg, and Arnold, Willmar, and Alvin Holthusen, all of Iowa.