Arlene Emelia Bodurtha

On December 21, 2024, winter solstice—the shortest day and the longest night—Arlene Emilia Bodurtha of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, chose this day to leave her earthly form. 

The solstice marks both an end and a beginning. Arlene’s spirit found renewal, free from worldly bounds, leaving a light brightly glowing amid the season's celebrations.

Arlene was born on January 1, 1928, in Montgomery, Massachusetts, the daughter of the late Levi Edson and Lena (Pueschel) Washburn. She attended the one-room schoolhouse, which still stands across the street from her family home, with her brother Gene and their predeceased siblings George, Betty(Bodendorf), Gerald, and Barbara (Lee). She graduated from Westfield High School. 

She worked for many years as a bookkeeper. Arlene spent most of her life in Montgomery, where her backyard was called “the bluebird incubator.” She was well known for her love of songbirds. She enjoyed family, fishing, card games, crossword puzzles, and winters in Florida.

Arlene leaves her children, Stephen E. (Christine)Bodurtha of Fitchburg, Mark D. (Susan)Bodurtha of Montgomery, and Joel E. (Michele)Bodurtha of Pierre, South Dakota, ten grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren. Arlene is reunited with her beloved daughter, Lisa Darlene Bodurtha, who died on August 8, 1971. 

Arlene will remain not in the fading of the day but in the growing light of tomorrow.

Burial will be at Center Cemetery, and a Celebration of Life will be held in late spring in her hometown of Montgomery, Massachusetts