Arlene Risius

Funeral services for Arlene Risius, 91, of Buffalo Center will be held on Saturday, August 10 at 11 a.m. in the First Reformed Church in Buffalo Center. A celebration of Life will follow at Heritage Town Center. On July 4, 2024, Arlene Risius joined her forever-husband, Vern, in heaven to watch the fireworks together. 

Arlene was born in Lakota to Henry and Alice Ennen on May 17, 1933. She was the oldest of four kids. She lived her childhood in Lakota, Stevens, and Elmore, MN. She went to Hamilton Business School in Mason City for one year and lived in the YWCA there.

Arlene loved dancing and met Luverne Risius at the Bancroft Ballroom. The story told was that Vern saw Arlene in a blue dress and was immediately smitten and asked her to dance. Vern’s eyes always twinkled when he talked about that blue dress. Much of their courtship involved dancing. They danced in ballrooms at Bancroft, Fairmont, Duncan, and The Surf. They were married on December 8, 1951. They celebrated 70 years together before Vern passed away in 2022.  

Vern and Arlene farmed many years on their farm west of Buffalo Center and raised four children there. Arlene did bookkeeping at the Coop Oil and also Wessels Trucking. She loved her big garden on the farm, where she raised many vegetables that she canned or froze to feed her family. They retired and found their perfect house and moved to town in 2005. 

Arlene and Vern delivered Winnebago Motor Homes from Forest City for 20 years. They drove to every state in the Union and every province in Canada. Many of their travels started or ended with visits to their kids and grandkids. They loved to travel, so in addition to touring the US with their campers, they were able to travel to Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Germany, Italy, and other places in Europe. 

Arlene and Vern bought a park home in Mission, TX and spent 24 years being winter snowbirds. They were very active in the park. Arlene served as the park president and chaired multiple committees. They played golf, pool, cards, and found great dancing venues. They made lifelong friends there.  

Raising pigs over the years on the farm, Arlene became an avid collector of pig figurines. Their park home in Texas abutted a central walkway. This is where she “penned” her pigs so those walking by could see. Her collection grew as new figurines would mysteriously appear. She had a smaller version in front of her home in Buffalo Center. 

Arlene was very active in her church and devout in her faith. She was the church choir director for 20 years, President of the Consistory and an Elder. She taught Sunday School, Catechism, and Bible School. 

She loved and supported all things Buffalo Center. She liked to read and really enjoyed the BC Library. She loved the Iowa Hawkeyes and followed the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. She enjoyed searching and tracing both her and Vern’s families in her genealogy. 

Arlene was very social and loved being “Mom” to many of her kids’ friends and classmates. She enjoyed daily coffee with the ladies uptown and especially looked forward to the neighborhood coffees in her garage. She loved her Buckets family, where she walked in and a large H2O on the rocks would be waiting on the table before she visited her way there. 

Her kids remember her for her yummy homemade buns, cinnamon rolls, scotcheroos, gingersnaps, and pistachio salad. 

Waiting to dance with her in heaven was her husband, Luverne, her parents, Henry and Alice, and her brother, David. Also preceding her in death was her son-in-law Bruce Coffman and a host of cousins and amazing friends.

She left behind her four kids: Vickie (Jeff) Lenz, Bettendorf; Steve (Lorie), Punta Gorda, FL; Julie Coffman, Denver, CO; and Jerry (Audrey) Risius, Brooklyn, NY. She so loved her grandkids and appreciated all their phone calls; Josh Lenz, Mel (Chris) Egger, Sarah (Ryan) Dybevik, Shannon (Luke) Kackman, Erika Delgado, Cole Coffman, Isabella Risius, and Carly (Eric) Pyfrom and adored her great-grandkids; Kaden, Ella and Ivan Dybevik, Gabriella Hansen and Olivia and Jaxon Egger. She also left behind her sister, Marilyn Peterson, her brother Don Ennen, her brother-in-law, Dean (Jody) Risius and a host of nieces and nephews. She will be forever missed!

Memorials for Arlene can be made to First Reformed Church in Buffalo Center or to Buffalo Center Ambulance.