Arlyn Dean Picken

Arlyn, my love, your earthly adventure ended on March 16, 2025, under Hospice Care at Wesley on Grand in Des Moines, Iowa, with family by your side. Your lifetime of love, friendships, learning, and adventures began on May 26, 1946, the day you were born in Mason City, IA, and named Arlyn Dean Picken by your parents Donald James and Marcella Juliette (Holstad) Picken. You shared daily life with a younger sister, Sandra, and brother, David.

After graduating from Mason City High School in 1964, you earned your Associate of Arts degree from Mason City Jr. College (now NIACC) in 1966. Before heading to the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, you met me, Connie Lynn Harden, and we looked to our future together. We married on June 9, 1967, and lived in student housing behind Kinnick Stadium. You graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy on May 28, 1970, and we headed to Keokuk, IA, for a retail job at Kessling Pharmacy. Our daughter Heidi was born there. In 1972 we returned to Mason City for a job at Mercy Hospital. Our son Heath was born there.

In 1974 all four of us headed to Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, IA. You had felt a call to ministry, not knowing where that call would lead you. You received your Master of Arts degree in 1981. During your time as a student, you worked as a staff pharmacist at Finley Hospital in Dubuque. Then, we moved to Maquoketa where you became the Director of Pharmacy at Jackson County Public Hospital. In 1983 you returned to retail pharmacy and became owner/operator of Bellevue Pharmacy in Bellevue, IA. In 1995, we sold Bellevue Pharmacy and returned to your first love, hospital pharmacy, working at both Finley and Mercy Hospitals in Dubuque. In 2003 we moved to Winona, MN, where you worked for 12 years as a clinical pharmacist at Winona Health Services. Upon retiring in 2015, we moved to Urbandale, IA, to be closer to family. Pharmacy was a career you loved and enjoyed, and you found your call to ministry was in your everyday relationships along your life’s journey.

When you weren’t filling Rx’s or compounding or sharing whatever you had just learned, you filled your hours with many hobbies and a lifetime of memories. You loved hunting (pheasants, quail, deer, grouse) and most often had a four-legged companion. Fishing and canoeing in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, the Missouri River in South Dakota, and the ‘Mighty” Mississippi provided endless adventures. You loved learning and were always searching the how, why, or what of something. After retiring, you took up woodworking. You had often worked alongside your carpenter father, so this was a natural fit for you. When you were diagnosed with Dermatomyositis, an autoimmune disease, in the fall of 2019, you had to give up your outdoor adventures but not your love of learning. You always found a new interest, something worthwhile to learn. Your forever advice to Heidi and Heath had always been ‘Study Hard’ and it remained the same for your grandchildren and yourself.

You treasured the many friends you had made over your lifetime and never took them for granted. Friends in the many pharmacies where you worked; around the Bellevue Pharmacy coffee bar; in the churches we were blessed to be part of; in the choirs we sang in; in Bellevue’s Rotary Club and Pheasants Forever; in the many neighborhoods where we lived. You knew you had been blessed to live a rich and full life. Your faith in God carried you through to the end and beyond.

You are survived by me, Connie, your wife of almost 58 years and our greatest treasure, our family - daughter, Heidi (Ryan) Bahrey of Monroe, WA, son Heath (Stephanie) Picken of Johnston, IA; and 5 grandchildren, Kestrel, Ontario, and Tuari Bahrey and Paxson and Brayden Picken. You are also survived by your brother, David (Chris) Picken of Surprise, AZ; sister, Sandra (Richard) Calhoun of Colorado Springs, CO; sisters and brother-in-law, April (Stan) Carlton of Arvada, CO, Ginger (Bill) Brillhart of Broomfield, CO, Echo Ruiz and partner Michael Fiala of Clear Lake IA and Elmer (Bonnie) Harden of Mason City, IA; two aunts, Lorette Kroneman and Virginia Holstad; many cousins, nieces and nephews; and friends who provided a lifetime of treasured memories.

You were preceded in death by your parents, Donald and Marcella Picken; father and mother-in-law, Elmer and Wanda (Heap) Harden; brother-in-law Tom Ruiz, countless relatives, friends, special fishing buddies, and beloved four-legged companions.

Memorial services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, May 25, 2025 at Faith Lutheran Church, 10396 University Avenue in Clive, IA, with visitation at 1:00 p.m. All are invited to join for fellowship and dessert following the service.

Memorial contributions in Arlyn’s name may be directed to Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, IA; Listening Point Foundation, Ely, MN; or a charity of your choice.

For additional information please refer to www.hamiltonsfuneralhome.com . The service will be live-streamed.

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