The Life of ARLINE SARAH RAUCH
Arline Sarah Rauch was born in rural Decatur County on August 5, 1923. She was one of nine children born to Chester and Ora Hill. She passed on January 16, 2013, at Bright Kavanagh House. She was preceded in death by her parents; daughter, Susan (Pedro) Martinez; sisters, Pauline (Delbert) Bethards and Ida May (William) Scholl; and brother, Gerald (Ruth) Hill.
Arline grew up on a farm near Leon, Iowa. She attended South White Oak Country School and graduated from Leon High School in 1941. She had fond memories of her childhood and talked often about her early experiences. She met the love of her life, Merrill Rauch, at a barn dance in Leon. They were married on October 11, 1945, in Atchison, Kansas. After Merrill was discharged from the United States Navy, they located in Des Moines, Iowa. They had three children, Chester (Patricia), Ronald (Lillian), and Susan (Pedro) Martinez.
Arline spent most of her adult life as a homemaker. She worked at Valley Bank for 2½ years and decided home was her first love when it came to working. Arline loved her family deeply. The family tended a large garden, and over the years, Arline canned hundreds of quarters of green beans, tomatoes and peppers. She liked to travel and visit friends, relatives, and various sights of interest. She would reminisce about sites that were seen on two trips to visit relatives in California. Later in life, she would spend part of her mornings working the crossword puzzle and word scrabble. Arline was an excellent cook and loved to have family dinners.
Arline is survived by her husband, Merrill; four brothers, Kenneth (Louise) Hill, Bill (Mary) Hill, Shelby (Donna) Hill, Bob (Marge) Hill; sister, Betty (Don) Mullins; two sons, Chester and Ronald; four grandchildren, Chris (Jill) Rauch, Tim Rauch, Nicole (Armel) Traore dit Nignan, and Eric Rauch. She is also survived by great-grandchildren, Katie Rauch, Krista Rauch, and Zachary Rauch; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, January 19, 2013, at Hamilton’s near Highland Memory Gardens, 121 NW 60th Avenue in Des Moines, with burial to follow at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.
