November 7, 1933 – April 19, 2023
Arlene was born Mary Arlene to parents John and Velma Cunningham, out in the country of southern Illinois. She was the youngest of 6 children, Cecil, Geneva, Donald, Pearl, and Eva Kathryn. Their dad died when Arlene was six. Her mom Velma remarried Dan Mathes who
moved his new family north to Streator to find work. Arlene met Ross Schroeder fell in love and got married and soon moved to the big city of Chicago, and then on to Bensenville, where they began their family with Chuck and then Sue. Sue blessed the family with Rachel and Bryan. Georgette joined soon, and then came Tony. Rachel blessed the family with Jillian Mary, then Michael joined in, and soon all were blessed with Madeline!
During all this time Arlene became a Teacher’s Aide for children with special needs, starting at Lincoln, and then Tioga Schools in Bensenville, continuing on until she retired from teaching, although she continued to mentor kids at Tioga school.
A memorial mass will be celebrated at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Elk-Grove Village at 1072 Ridge Ave. on Saturday June 3, at the 4:30pm service.
For funeral information, please call JGeils Funeral Services at 630-247-6623
To all the families that have supported my father, Jim, throughout his 45 years as a funeral director, I hope you will continue to let me serve you moving forward.