Obituary of Arlene Schmitz of River Falls, Wisconsin

A Life Woven Through Wisconsin Communities

The story of a sixty-four-year marriage often lives in the quiet margins of everyday commerce, in cold drives through blizzards and long nights spent balancing ledgers. Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services reported the details of a life built across River Falls, marking the passing of Arlene Schmitz, who lived through an era of steady Midwestern grit from her upbringing on a Minnesota dairy farm to decades running family grocery stores alongside her husband, Jim.

Born Arlene Kahlich on November 26, 1941, in Little Falls, Minnesota, to Alvin and Mary Ann Kahlich, she grew up working part-time at the Pine Edge Motel while attending Little Falls High School. After graduation, she moved to Minneapolis, staying at a girls club and working as a secretary in the catering department at the Lemington Hotel. A blind date arranged by Jim set her life on a different course. Though Jim initially set her up with a friend, he quickly realized his mistake and swapped dates the next time he visited the Twin Cities.

From Minneapolis to the St. Croix Valley

Jim enlisted in the Wisconsin National Guard, introducing Arlene to his parents in Spooner during a leave. After completing six months of training, he moved to Minneapolis to work as a meat cutter for National Foods, and the couple became engaged that summer. When the Wisconsin 32nd Division was activated to Fort Lewis, Washington, for a year, their plans paused. Upon his return, Jim pushed for a wedding, telling her it was now or never. They married on October 13 in Little Falls, Minnesota—though Jim famously forgot it was the opening day of duck hunting season—and soon moved to River Falls so Jim could finish his education.

The couple threw themselves into local retail work. They both took jobs at the Red and White grocery store in River Falls, where Jim worked as a meat cutter and Arlene worked as a checkout girl. When Arlene became pregnant, she was no longer allowed to work at the Red and White. She gave birth to their first daughter, Carolyn, on October 15, 1963. To help pay for Jim’s flying lessons, Arlene stitched together a patchwork of jobs, babysitting, working at the River Falls Medical Clinic, and taking the night shift at the River Falls Hospital.

Building Businesses Across Western Wisconsin

In 1970, the family expanded into business ownership by purchasing the Tom Thumb store in Hudson, Wisconsin. Arlene managed the bookkeeping while handling the meat market on Saturday nights. Closing the store at 11 p.m. often meant driving home through severe winter storms in an old Mercury stick-shift car equipped with a rusted-through trunk that could not hold luggage. By 1973, they acquired a grocery store in Roberts, Wisconsin, where Arlene again managed the books and worked the grocery side while Jim ran the meat department. They eventually sold the Hudson store in 1987.

Away from the cash registers, Arlene traveled extensively, touring Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Her travels also took her on major religious pilgrimages, including the El Camino de Santiago in Spain, Fatima in Portugal, and Medugorje in Bosnia. She remained deeply involved with the Catholic Church throughout her life, balancing her faith with cooking, gardening, fishing, and spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Services and Final Arrangements

Arlene is survived by Jim, her husband of 64 years; their three children, Carolyn Lee and husband Jeff, Jim Schmitz, and Mike Schmitz and wife Shandi; four grandchildren, Jeremy Lundgren and wife Michele, Candice Lundgren and husband John, Evan, and Lauren; two great-grandchildren, Mariah and Ella; her sisters, Barbra Kahlich DeRosier, Ruth Perryman, and Mary Kellerhals; and numerous nieces and nephews, as reported by Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services.

A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Bridgit Catholic Church, located at 211 E. Division St. in River Falls, Wisconsin. Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. prior to the service. Interment will follow at Kinnikinnick Cemetery under the direction of Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services.