Arlene Eleanor (Doose) Hahn

Arlene was born on April 23, 1928. She was the oldest of seven children born to John and Pearl (Erickson) Doose. She was baptized into the Christian faith on May 20, 1928 and confirmed at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Boyd. She was a life-long member of the Lutheran church. She attended Redeemer Church in Boyd until they closed and her membership was continued on at Zion Lutheran Church of rural Boyd. Arlene graduated high school from Wood Lake, MN. On April 28, 1947, she was united in marriage to Merle Hahn. They enjoyed nearly 75 years of wedded bliss together. To this union two children were born; first daughter, Barbara (Barb) Ann in 1948 and then a son, Gerald (Jerry) William in 1951.

Arlene was well-known around the Boyd area. She worked as a machinist for Chandler Industries in Montevideo for a number of years and then purchased and ran Hahn Grocery Store in Boyd. She also worked a number of years for Eldo Thompson at his machine shop next to the Boyd school. In 1986, a terrible accident left her son Jerry paralyzed from the waist down. Arlene immediately took on the role of caregiver and housekeeper for Jerry. You could often find Arlene at Jerry’s house either making a home-cooked meal or cleaning and keeping up the house. Along with this new role came getting the house ready for a number of guests that would often spend the weekends at Jerry’s home. There were so many fun times spent with friends and family during these adventures.

In her younger years, Arlene loved to camp and fish and spent many weekends camping at Don and Lavonne Priebe’s cabin on Big Chip Lake in Brandon, MN. “Up North” as she called it, they would spend time with their kids, grandkids, parents, siblings and all their extended families. Arlene loved getting together and spending time with her family at the lake as they all seemed to have such a great time together. Arlene also loved to visit and have a couple beers with Merle and their friends at the end of a hot summer day by sitting at the picnic table under the shade tree in the backyard. She was a great cook and loved to make her homemade buns and apple pies. Near the end of July each year she would get together with a large group of friends and turn canning sweet corn into a fun event for everyone. Arlene also enjoyed going to family reunions each summer and was active in her church.

In later years, Arlene could not miss out on “Holy Tuesdays”, as you could almost always find her at the Boyd Senior Center playing cards and enjoying the company of friends. She was active in the Legion Auxiliary as well as driving people to and from appointments for Prairie 5. She so enjoyed these times, but as the years progressed, it was harder for her to continue on with these activities, so bird watching became a favorite pastime as her and Merle would often sit by the kitchen table and watch out the picture window. Nothing went unnoticed with Arlene watching out the picture window of the house.

Arlene was so proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She always enjoyed when they would stop for a visit. Grandma loved to hear about their school activities and the sports they were involved in. A cookie or two was always available for the kids to have. In the summertime, Arlene would enjoy riding on the golf cart with Merle as they would cruise around town and throughout the countryside. Their golf cart voyages would take them out looking for asparagus or may end up with just a random stop to visit with some friends they would encounter along their journey. It wasn’t uncommon to see Arlene and Merle up to 10 miles away from home cruising on the cart! A couple years ago, in the midst of Covid, Arlene and Merle celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary. They were pleasantly surprised by a wonderful parade of well-wishers from the surrounding Boyd community. She was so happy and surprised by all the people who took the time to think of them on their anniversary.

Arlene Eleanor Hahn went peacefully to be with the angels on January 2, 2022 at the age of 93. Her last few days were spent at the Prairie Ridge Hospital in Elbow Lake, MN where she was surrounded by family. As the gates to heaven opened to welcome her in, Jerry welcomed her with open arms. Arlene was preceded in death by her son, Jerry; parents, John and Pearl Doose; parents-in-law, William and Dorothy Hahn; brothers, Chuck Doose and John Doose Jr.; sisters, Violet Anderson and Shirley Shogren; brothers-in-law, Dick Shogren, Don Priebe, William Priebe, Francis Johnson, and Darrell Hahn; sisters-in-law, Ruby Doose, Marilyn Johnson, Margaret Hahn, Phyllis Hahn, and Marie Priebe.

Arlene Hahn is survived by her husband, Merle Hahn of Evansville (formerly of Boyd); daughter, Barb (Robert) Henrichs of Evansville; grandsons, Ryan Henrichs (Julie Dahlen) of Ashby, Darren Henrichs and Robbie (Alisa) Henrichs, both of Evansville; grandson, Chad (Kim) Hahn of Dawson; granddaughter, Carin (Scott) Buseman of Waconia; step-grandsons, Shane (Lisa) Henrichs of Evansville and Michael (Darcy) Henrichs of St. Cloud; great-grandchildren, Cassandra Englund, Faith and Ryan Henrichs Jr., Christopher Henrichs, Rachel, Braxton, and Brayden Hahn, Chloe Henrichs, and Bryce and Eric Buseman; step-great-grandchildren, Justin (Amy) Henrichs, Carly (Rocky) Yates, Jordan Henrichs, Bella, Natalie, and Owen Henrichs; step-great-greatgrandchildren, Tenly, Piper and Twins (in June) Henrichs, Taylor, Ryland, and Kendra Yates; brother, Gordon (Cheryl) Doose of Garfield; sister, Lavonne Priebe of Willmar, and brother-in-law Virgil Anderson of Boyd.

Visitation will be on Saturday, May 7th, 2022 at 1 PM at Zion Lutheran Church in rural Boyd, Tyro Township, followed by a Celebration of Life at 2 PM. Interment to follow at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Boyd.

Blessed Be Her Memory!

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