Arlene Hiltunen

Arlene M. Hiltunen, age 86 of Grey Eagle, died peacefully on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at the CentraCare Health Nursing Home in Long Prairie, Minnesota.

A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, February 21 at Lakeview Cemetery in Grey Eagle with Rev. Ron Tibbetts officiating. A lunch will follow the graveside service.

Arlene Marie Ainali was born March 26, 1928 in Millwood Township, Stearns County, Minnesota to George and Ruth (Murphy) Ainali. On June 16, 1946 she married Willard Hiltunen at the Ainali Farm in Grey Eagle. After their marriage, the couple lived in Little Falls for a short time before moving to Grey Eagle and residing at Big Birch Lake. The couple spent time together fishing and Arlene enjoyed listening to Willard play his concertina and guitar. Arlene was a member of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Grey Eagle where she taught Sunday school and served the annual meatball dinner for many years.

She loved gardening, listening to the radio, quilting, embroidering, reading, baking, bird watching, going to the Sauk Centre Movie Theatre, having picnics at surrounding lakes, and taking road trips in her Plymouth Horizon to surrounding areas visiting family and friends.

Survivors include her daughter-in-law, Sandra Hiltunen of Grey Eagle; grandchildren, Kurt Hiltunen of Minneapolis, Shane (fiancée, Laura) Meagher of Circle Pines, and Crystal (Christian) Meagher of St. Michael; great-grandchildren, Austin, Aaron, Julie, Tessa, and Autumn; sisters and brother, Louise Hagstrom of Burtrum, Barbara Johnson of Minneapolis, and John (Delores) Ainali of Grey Eagle.

Arlene was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Willard Hiltunen; son, Thomas "Tom" Hiltunen; sister, Elaine Ainali; and her dogs, Sheila and Skeeter.

Serving as urn bearer will be her granddaughter, Crystal Meagher.