Mary Theisen Arbes, 90, formerly of the Wadena area, died April 26, 2006, in Kennewick, Wash.
She was born June 4, 1915, on a farm in Otter Tail County outside Wadena to William Theisen and Katherine Sendelbach Theisen. She grew up in Wadena and married Martin Tony Arbes, also of Wadena, on April 17, 1937, at St. Anns Church in Wadena. They moved to the Tri-Cities area of Washington with their first three sons in 1948, eventually living in all three cities. She worked for a variety of employers in the Tri-Cities including J.A.Jones Construction at Hanford, and the Richland and Kennewick school districts, before becoming a secretary/bookkeeper at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 112, where she served for 25 years until retiring in 1982. During her nearly 60 years in the Tri-Cities, she joined in many community activities. In Kennewick in the 1950s she was active in St. Josephs parish and was chairwoman of the Civil Defense Committee of the St. Josephs Altar Society. Moving to Pasco in 1959, she was involved with St. Patricks parish and was a member of the altar society and the Catholic Daughters of America 1611 for 47 years, and a social member of the Knights of Columbus. She was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary Veterans of Foreign Wars and a longtime member of TOPS #544 in Pasco, reaching KOPS status in 1993. Following retirement she volunteered at the Franklin County Historical Museum and participated in Rambling Rovers. She enjoyed traveling, singing, cards and bowling, visiting and corresponding with friends and relatives. Following a series of strokes she moved from her home to the Manor at Canyon Lakes in Kennewick, where she lived for six years until recently moving to Tranquility Manor.
The funeral Mass was May 10 at St. Josephs Catholic Church in Kennewick, Wash., followed by burial in Riverview Heights Cemetery, Kennewick, Wash., with arrangements by Hillcrest/Bruce Lee Memorial Center in Kennewick, Wash.
She was preceded in death by her 14 brothers and sisters, her husband and two sons, Anthony and Eugene. Survivors include two sons, James, of Yakima, Wash., and Jerome (Anne Knight) of Seattle, Wash.
