Arlene Marie (Olson) Longe- February 4th, 1948-March 6th, 2018

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. at the Grace Lutheran Church in West Point, NE with Rev. Steve Lund officiating. Interment will be in the Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitation will be on Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Minnick Funeral Home in West Point and will continue on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the service at the church.

Arlene passed away on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at Valhaven Care and Rehabilitation Center in Valley, NE.

Arlene was born in Fremont, NE to Howard and Bertha (Petersen) Olson and grew up in Uehling, NE. She was very active in high school and developed a love for music and sports, graduating from Uehling High School in 1966. Arlene attended Wayne State College where she majored in Elementary Education with a minor in Music and was a proud member of the Kappa Delta Gamma sorority.

Arlene married Theodore “Ted” Longe on May 3rd, 1970 at the First Congregational Church in Uehling. Ted and Arlene lived in Lincoln and later farmed near Wayne where Arlene taught at two different country schools in Wayne County. The couple eventually moved to Norfolk in 1975 where they raised their two boys, Trevor and Troy. Arlene had an in-home daycare while the boys were young before returning to the classroom at Madison County School District #16 in 1981 where she taught until 1996 when the school closed. She then moved to Battle Creek Elementary where she taught 2nd grade for three years before retiring in 1999 due to her health.

Arlene loved working with kids, playing the piano, and watching her boys play or coach various sports. She played the piano for the youth groups at Christ the Servant Lutheran Church and her school Christmas programs at District #16 were legendary. She put her heart and soul into her teaching and always did her best to help kids. Arlene loved sports, especially college football, Kansas City Royals baseball and the College World Series.

In her later years Arlene loved playing games with her grandkids: UNO with Emily, hide-and seek with Gunnar, and catch with Vera. She was genuinely interested in the day to day lives of everyone who came to visit her and built strong bonds with the nurses that came to the house to take care of her. Arlene loved the Hallmark channel or anything that would make her laugh. Everyone who really knew her loved her spirit and her mischievous smile! She was also very passionate about coffee and looked forward to a fresh cup that Troy would make for her every morning.

Arlene is survived by her husband, Ted (47 years); son Trevor Longe, his wife Michelle Williamson and their children Emily and Ethan of Omaha; son Troy Longe, his wife Katrina (Inness) Longe and their children Gunnar and Vera of West Point; brother Raymond Olson (Roberta) of St. Paul, MN; sister Carol Milander (Jon) of Coleridge; niece, nephews, and numerous cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, a niece (Kristin) and a nephew (David).