Arlene Andert

Arlene Andert,(nee Farone), age 88, of Scandia, Minnesota, formerly of St. Paul, Minnesota passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family on February 17, 2017. Arlene Andert loved words. She was a virtually unbeatable Scrabble player, did at least one crossword puzzle a day, and went through every book at the Red Wing Library. (Credit her career at West Publishing as a proofreader for her speed reading skills.) She was down-to-earth, had her own fetching style, was intelligent, and had the sharp Farone sense of humor. She carried that deep sense of humor through her final days. (Check with her daughters for details.) Arlene loved nature and birds and her happy-place, the cabin in Hayward, where she spent hours with her grandchildren playing board games and cards and reading and knitting on the porch. She taught her grandkids how to play penny poker and gin rummy; and at age 7, one of them arrived for a morning visit with the greeting, "Ante up Grandma!" As a sports-lover with five daughters, Arlene was happily blessed with 5 sons-in-law who loved sports and their mother-in-law in equal measure. Many were the days when her living room shook with the shouts and laughter of Arlene and the "boys" watching a major sporting event. Arlene never sat on the sidelines politically. She was well-informed, active and engaged. She wrote to her representatives regularly and encouraged her family to be active citizens as well. Her sense of hospitality was unrivaled, and anyone was welcome at any time. Even in hospice, she welcomed and cared for visitors, as though she were hosting a gathering. That sense of care and hospitality were at the heart of her role as a mother to the daughters who each saw her as a dear friend and role model in their own role as mothers. To her grandchildren, she was a friend and advocate, cheerleader, and confidante -- all with a great sense of humor. She will be missed and she will be with us forever. She is preceded in death by her husband, Lawrence "Spike" Andert; Infant son, Johnny; siblings, Josephine Walth, Jerome Farone, Delores McGrew. Survived by 5 daughters: Therese (Phil) Martin, Karen (Greg) McNulty, Kathi (Mike) Mueller, Patty (Greg) Hefferan, Amy (Jed) Payne; 6 beloved grandchildren; 1 great grandchild; brothers, Bill Farone and Eugene "Gino" Farone; many nieces, nephews and other extended family. Private interment at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery.

A Celebration of Arlene's Life will be at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake. Family will greet friends from 12 p.m. until time of service.

Funeral Home: Mattson Funeral Home 343 North Shore Drive Forest Lake, MN US 55025

---

Previous Events

cemetery
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Visitation
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Service
Wednesday, March 8, 2017

---