Arlene D. Raisch

ARLENE DOROTHY (HANSEL) RAISCH
November 22, 1922 – April 2, 2020

Arlene D. Raisch, 97, of Iowa Falls passed away April 2, 2020, at Taylor House Hospice in Des Moines. Arlene Dorothy (Hansel) Raisch was born at home in Manchester, Iowa, on November 22, 1922, the middle child and only daughter of Walter Nicholas Hansel and Alma Caroline (Engel) Hansel. She attended Manchester schools where she excelled in band, glee club, declamatory, theater and English and graduated with honors from Manchester High School in 1940. Arlene went on to attend junior college in Independence, Iowa, from 1940-41 and State Teachers College of Iowa in Cedar Falls from 1941-43.

Arlene taught elementary classes in Dumont, Iowa from 1943-44. It was in Dumont where she was set up on a blind date with Gerald Raisch, an Army PFC who was home on leave from World War II to attend the funeral of his grandfather. After writing each other for several months, Arlene traveled to El Paso, Texas, where Gerald was stationed, and became a war bride in 1944. As Gerald continued to serve in the Army, Arlene supported the cause by working in the Government Rail Transportation Office, first in El Paso and later at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

When the war ended, the couple returned to Dumont and together built a new house from the ground up. Arlene again taught elementary school in Dumont for two years before the couple moved to Oelwein, Iowa, where Gerald opened his own hairstyling business. The couple’s first child, Roger, was born in Oelwein in 1950. A daughter, Sally, followed in 1953 after the couple had relocated to Mason City, Iowa, where Gerald expanded his hairstyling business in a larger city.

Following the couple’s divorce in 1961, Arlene and her children lived in Cedar Falls, where Arlene completed her Bachelor’s degree at University of Northern Iowa. In 1963, Arlene started her teaching career in Iowa Falls. During her 25 years of dedicated teaching, Arlene positively influenced the lives of countless Iowa Falls students. She taught sixth grade at Central School, Blanche Stoddard, North Elementary and Riverbend Middle School. Arlene joked that she was in school 25 years and never made it out of sixth grade.

After retiring from teaching in 1988, Arlene moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to live near her younger brother George and his family. While in Nashville, she became very involved in musical activities at the Donelson Senior Center, performing with the “Elderberries” and “Old Spicers” singing groups at a variety of venues. It was also at the Senior Center where Arlene first picked up the instrument for which she became well known in senior circles – the washboard! Her daughter gifted her an elaborately decorated “Liberace” washboard for her 80th birthday, on which Arlene enjoyed tapping rhythms for the rest of her life.

During her Nashville years, Arlene also became a member of the choir on the “Choir at Sea” cruises, traveling and performing in Paris, Monaco, Versailles, Barcelona, Lisbon, Ireland, London, Normandy and the Caribbean. Arlene’s other travel adventures included riding in Iowa’s annual RAGBRAI bicycle trek and the “Bike to Jack and Back” bike ride in Tennessee, where she was often heralded as the oldest rider to complete the trip. Bicycling was always a passion of Arlene’s, starting when she won a shiny new bicycle for selling newspaper subscriptions when she was 12; and ending with a red three-wheeled recumbent bike she pedaled around Iowa Falls.

Wanting to be closer to her children, Arlene returned to make her home back in Iowa Falls in 2005. Of course, she brought her washboard with her and delighted audiences with her spirited performances in the Ackley German Band and Dow Jones and the Averages. She also belonged to Etude and participated in the Relay for Life for many years.

Arlene was a long-time member of First Congregational United Church of Christ and a former member of First Presbyterian Church of Nashville. She sang alto in the choir at both churches and spent many hours tending the flowers and shrubs at First Presbyterian. Arlene also belonged to the Iowa Education Association and was a past member of Kappa Delta Pi Scholarship sorority.

Arlene is survived by her son Roger W. Raisch (Nadine) of Pleasant Hill, Iowa; her daughter Sally Ann Lunsford (Paul) of Topeka, Kansas; two grandsons, Matthew R. Raisch of Waynesville, North Carolina, and Ryan C. Raisch of Buckner, Missouri; one granddaughter Carly J. Hysell (Drew) of Overland Park, Kansas; and one great-grandson, Brady A. Hysell of Overland Park. She was preceded in death by her parents and brothers, Dale E. Hansel and George L. Hansel.

Hamilton’s Funeral Home in Des Moines www.hamiltonsfuneralhome.com is in charge of arrangements. A memorial service is pending and will be announced at a later date. Memorial contributions may be sent to First Congregational UCC, P.O. Box 723, Iowa Falls, IA 50126.

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