Mary V. Van Arsdol

Mary Veronica Van Arsdol was born March 13, 1918, the daughter of Jas and Delia Mulligan Forrest. She passed away on Friday, September 9, 2011, at the Golden Living Center - Clarkson, Nebraska, at the age of ninety-three.
Mary was born in Dunlap, Iowa, and attended rural country school. She was united in marriage to Leonard Van Arsdol on September 3, 1936, in Onawa, Iowa. The couple was blessed with four sons. They made their first home on a farm in Harrison County and later moved to a farm in Crawford County where she was a homemaker. In 1956 they moved to California, where Mary worked various jobs in factories, including Sees Candies. They returned to Arion in 1965 where they operated the Arion Tap until 1971. She worked a security job at Dubuque Packing until retiring in the early 90's.
She was a loving person and friends called her "Mother Mary." She had a soft heart for cats and would pick up stray cats and care for them. She was an active member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Dow City, Iowa. She enjoyed socializing, playing cards, listening to bands, helping with Arion Buffalo Days, camping, and traveling - especially to California. Mary moved to the Golden Living Center in Clarkson, Nebraska, in 2005. She was very active in the nursing home, volunteering throughout the facility to assist other residents and staff to keep her busy. She headed a fundraiser to purchase a new shuffle board for the residents. In 2006 she was Volunteer of the Year.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Leonard in 1986; three sons: James; Leonard; Michael; adopted son, George Truex; two grandsons, James and Richard; and two sisters, Betty and Francis. Survivors include: one daughter-in-law, Helen; two grandsons: David and his fianc, Jenny; and Todd and his wife, Cori; one granddaughter, Charlotte and her husband, Richard; seventeen great-grandchildren and fifteen great-great-grandchildren.