By Douglas P. Marsh
dmarsh@cherryroad.com
West Branch resident Arlyne Kline celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends June 30, 2024. The day was too windy for motorcycling so instead of her customary ride on the back of her son’s motorcycle, she settled for transport by car to Cracker Barrel for a meal out with family. More than 40 people had attended her celebration a few days prior at Victorian Trails Apartments.
Kline was born in Greenville, 25 miles northeast of Grand Rapids.
“My dad was a chef there in town. I don’t know how long we were there,” she said. “Then I think we went to Lansing to live, several places in Lansing.”
Kline first settled in West Branch in the 1960s with then-husband Bob Peacock. The couple worked in real estate. She fondly recalled traveling together to Arizona, Texas and Hawaii.
“He decided to retire and so we moved to Florida,” she said. “He was in his brand new house that we had built there, slept there one night and died the next day.”
She lived several more years in Florida before returning to Michigan.
“Eventually I thought I’d better get back closer to my kids,” she said. “I lived over on State Street for a very short time and got into the apartments here and have lived here ever since.”
Sons Gary and Ron Bennett and daughter Tracie Leach all live in northern lower Michigan. The apartment at Victorian Trails has been Kline’s home for over a decade. She maintained an open-door policy over the years and befriended everyone on her wing and several from apartments farther off.
“On Thursday mornings I used to go down and make coffee for whoever wanted to come to coffee,” she said.
She enjoyed the coffee socials until she broke her hip last year and passed the duties along to another resident. Lately she likes to watch television and shops frequently on QVC, a cable television shopping channel.
“Their clothing, it lasts a long time, a lot longer than stuff you get here,” she said. “I like a lot of their food because it doesn’t have preservatives in it.”
Ila Fegan, a close friend, attributed Kline’s longevity to her healthy diet. Fegan met Kline at Victorian Trails.
“My friend, who’s just a little younger than Arlyne, they were buddies. They would exchange recipes and foods,” said Fegan. “One time when I was visiting, Arlyne came over and knocked on the door.”
It turned out that Kline had met Fegan’s husband, Rod, volunteering at the food pantry at Ogemaw Hills Church.
“He is funny because his wife is more careful about what she eats and so he used to say things like, ‘well, gotta go home and eat grass,’ just because she’s more careful about what she eats and evidently Rod wasn’t,” said Kline, laughing.
Volunteering at the food pantry was the source of a great deal of joy and camaraderie, she said.
“The people that I worked with, they were great people,” she said. “Sometimes they used to call me granny just because I was the oldest one there.”
In addition to friends and blood relatives, Kline has two unofficial adoptive children, Ricky and Rose White.
“He makes beautiful cabinets,” she said. “They have become a part of our family. His birthday is the 8th of July. I got him a lemon cake.”
WE CALL HER MA
By Rose White – June 25, 2024
She was born on June 30, 1924
Her mother was Louise and her father Erford
She believes in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Praying the Good News that her friends will all hear it.
She’s quick-witted, feisty and so darn cute
Just ask her opinion she’ll give you the truth.
She is ready to celebrate anytime there’s no doubt
Because her greatest fear is the fear of missing out
She loves spending time with family and friends
With the greatest of hopes that this time will never end
She goes out to eat and never misses a beat
While secretly wondering what’s for the treat
She likes ice cream, chocolate and sour cream donuts
Loves all sweets and wants everyone to know it
She enjoys peacocks, motorcycles and beautiful lilies
Talking, laughing and acting silly
She watches television more then she should,
Seeing too much of the news is never good
She is a classy lady from her stylish clothes
Down to her beautifully painted toes
She decorates her home with her memories and loves
Pictures of family, friends and heaven above
She is sweet, loving and set in her ways
We love her so much and thank God every day.
