Sr. Arlene Welding will be celebrating a “big event” on June 15, 2019 — her 80th Anniversary as a nun in School Sisters of St. Francis Order.
Also, this past month, on May 12, she turned 98 years old.
Here is a summary of her life story, courtesy of Sr. Welding and as told to Marilyn Sehi:
Sr. Arlene Welding was a twin and one of nine children born to the Joe and Gertrude Welding family.
She and her siblings were raised in the Elgin area and members of St. Boniface Catholic Church. They attended the areas schools and, after she finished her freshman year at the approximate age of 15, she made a life choice to serve God as a religious.
Sr. told us that her mothers’ sister (Sr. Veremunda Schrafen) came to Elgin from Milwaukee to join/take Marcella (her baptized name) to Campsbellsport, WI to the Mother House where she would continue her high school education and become a teacher in the School Sisters of St. Francis Order.
Her teaching years began in 1940: 10 years in Milwaukee; 10 years in “Schools for the Blacks” in Mississippi;
3 years in “English” teaching schools in Costa Rica. She then was sent to Honduras, the poorest country in Central America where she worked with the poor in their villages and homes. It was there where her experiences impacted her greatly, to the point of impelling her to work for justices and peace issues the rest of her life.
After leaving Honduras she was send to Los Angeles where she saw first hand women digging in garbage cans for food to feed their families. The first Food Pantry was an old garage; She tells how others were willing to ask for donations going door to door, to local grocery stores and getting leftovers from cafés; she stated “I decided to write Paul Newman about my plans and asked for his help. “He donated a total of $17,000.00 on 2 occasions. She is most thankful to him and credits him with the Food Pantry success. This center was turned over to the local churches in that area before she left for Nashville, TN.
At Nashville, Sr. Arlene continued her work with the poor of all nationalities for another 22 years. She wrote over 200 letters to editors about justices and peace.
Five of those letters received her an award from Knights of Peter Claver Organization.
She retired in 2004. She stays up on current events, enjoys playing bridge once a week (if there are enough players) and takes part in the activities where she lives.
Greetings can be sent to:
Sr. Arlene Welding
Our Lady House of Angels
3995 S. 92nd St.
Greenfield WI 53228
She is hoping to attend the Welding Reunion being held at the Elgin K of C Hall on July 27, 2019.
