Arlene M. Rejsa
March 27, 1928 ~ October 24, 2013
Arlene M. Rejsa, 85, of Cedar Rapids, died on Thursday, October 24, 2013, at Winslow House Care Center, Marion. Arlene has donated her body to the University of Iowa Department of Anatomy. Burial at Oak Hill Cemetery, Cedar Rapids, at a later date. Survivors include her nephews, Dennis, Duane, and Gregg Koss; and several cousins. Arlene was born March 27, 1928, in Cedar Rapids, the daughter of Joseph and Emma (Kouba) Rejsa. She retired from Iowa Electric in 1984, after 37 years of service. She was preceded in death by her parents; and a sister, Jean Koss. Memorials may be made to the charity of the donor's choice.
View current weather.
Memories Timeline
Guestbook
Sign the Guestbook, Light a Candle
Arlene was my last cousin in Cedar Rapids–we will miss her–she was a good person. She was instrumental in introducing me my wife of 57 years. Our sympathy to all of her surviving family..
I’m sad to hear of Arlene’s passing. She was a sweet person and I’ll always remember fondly our times together at bingo.
So sorry to hear about Arlene, she was a very pleasant person and I was fortunate to become friends with her at the casino.
I know she will be greatly missed. God Bless.
I will miss knowing that you are in Cedar Rapids and that I could call on you at any time to discuss the history of you growing up and your parents, Joe and Emma.
Growing up with Arlene
Arlene’s mother had 2 sisters and I am the son of one of those sisters, Agnes Barta(Kouba). I am age 78, 7 years younger than Arlene. I had frequent contact with Arlene because my parents, Arnold and Agnes Barta, would often visit her parents, Joe and Emma Rejsa(Kouba) and take me along.
During these visits they would just sit and talk or maybe there would be some activity like shooting .22 rifles at targets in the field outside the back door of the house. Arlene would never fire a .22 but she would cheer us on when we hit the target. When I was a little older, my father Arnold Barta and I would go pheasant hunting with Arlene’s dad, Joe Rejsa, in the fields surrounding their house. Joe had an automatic 12 gauge shotgun that he used for hunting and that always impressed me.
Every 4th of July we would gather on Rejsa’s front porch after dark to watch the fireworks at Hawkeye Downs. We could only see the high ones from their house.
When Arlene and her sister, Jean were growing up, they frequently had trouble getting to school in the winter. Rockford Road, and especially the long lane leading up to the house would get drifted over with snow. When Arlene was little, her dad, Joe had a team of horses to do the farm work, no tractor, so I’m sure he had trouble keeping the lane clear.
Arlene had quite a responsible job with Iowa Electric and I’m sure was well paid. One day when I happened to be at her house, Arlene came driving up in a brand new 1953, light green, Chevy. That was quite an event, and those were different times for sure.
Tom Barta
Altho I met Arlene when I was a child, it wasn’t until last year when family research connected us again and I visited her in Marion. A wonderful lady and fun to talk to, I’m glad we were able to meet when we did.