Arlowyn Evelyn O'Shaughnessy-Hoge
January 29, 1924 - January 29, 2022
Obituary
Arlowyn Evelyn (Blood) O’Shaughnessy-Hoge was born on a farm in Veblen, South Dakota on Jan. 29, 1924. She passed away in Renton, WA on Jan. 26, 2022, just shy of her 98th birthday. Even though she had some Dementia, she always loved to laugh and never lost her sense of humor.
Arlowyn ‘s parents were John and Gertie Blood and her brother, 4 years younger was Durwood Blood. She and her brother went to a one-room schoolhouse for elementary school sometimes riding a horse together to school especially when it snowed. Her early years of high school were spent in town at Bristol and Britton, South Dakota staying with her Aunt Clara and her Aunt Nell. In 1939 she and her family moved to Kent, WA where there was more work for her dad, so this dark-haired beauty graduated from Kent-Meridian High School. This is also where she met her Iifelong friend, Chloris (Oliver) Strom, who was so special to her. In all her years since, Arlowyn never missed a class reunion.
After high school, Arlowyn, who usually went by Ario, attended Edison Vocational School. She worked for Mast’s Inc, Crucible Steel Co, and Pacific Coast Railroad as a secretary or bookkeeper until she married her first husband, William (Bill) O’Shaughnessy on July 19, 1947. They honeymooned fishing and camping in a tent around the Olympic Peninsula. Together they raised three children in Tukwila, WA, Terry, Kim, and Wendy. She was a busy mom sewing clothes & costumes for Kim and Wendy, canning pickles, jelly, fruits & vegetables, crocheting afghans, going camping, taking them to school events, church, baseball games, tap dance, baton. banjo, and piano lessons.
Besides being a great mom and wife, Ario was also the bookkeeper for their tire business, Tubeweld Associates. After Bill died young in 1975, our strong mom continued to help run the business for two years until she sold it. After this, she went to work for Robinson Federal Way News for a few years.
Through the years, Ario was also a PTA officer, Campfire Girl leader, and a 67-year member of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, where she was active as a Sunday School and Vacation Bible School Teacher & also in the Women’s Guild. She was a member of·”The Birthday Club” with her long-time friends Lorrain, Lillian, Billie, Amy, Nadine, Florence and Vivian. Her neighbors were always so much fun and such loyal friends.
Our mom was a social butterfly and whoever visited could never leave without at least eating something. She loved to entertain family, friends, and her South Dakota & Canadian relatives. On road trips wherever we traveled, if she knew a friend or relative in any town we were traveling through, we always had to stop and at least say hi. She also loved getting together with her brother’s family, Durwood, Dolores, Jim, Karen, Kathy and Jill. We enjoyed many evenings of Bill, Durwood, and Terry playing guitars and all the rest of us singing along.
In the years after Bill passed away, she took a wonderful trip to Europe with her friend, Gladys Bigelow. She also took her family to Hawaii. Ario missed dancing, which she always loved, so she joined a group called, ·”Parents without Partners”, to be able to continue going to dances and socialize. This is where she met her second husband, Harris Hoge. They were married on Feb. 12, 1989. Their good friends, Enid and Werner Mummert, stood up for them at their wedding. They enjoyed dancing at the VFW Hall The Dakota Dance Club and the Tukwila Senior Center with their good friends Ray, Lillian, Enid,
Werner, and others, Harris and Ario worked hard in her huge yard together, took some cruises. traveled to Norway, Hawaii, North and South Dakota, and Florida, attended the Blood and Schager reunions and loved going to the Norwegian Lutefisk dinners. Sadly, Harris passed away in March 2020.
Her family was so important to her. She would light up whenever her grandchildren, Todd, Kyle and Katie, or her great-grandchildren, Haleigh, Noah, Lilah, Konner and Nolan would visit. Ario told her children and grandchildren stories of living a hard, simple life in South Dakota, living through snowy, cold winters, financial hardships, and using rations during the depression. She told us to work hard, save money, use coupons and don’t Iive beyond your means. She would say, ”If you have a good reputation, love, family, good health and faith, that is what is important”. We will all greatly miss our mom, grandma, aunt, sister in law, cousin and friend. Many who loved Arlowyn are here today, some could not come and many have gone before her. But because she believed Jesus was her Savior, it is comforting to know that this goodbye for us is not forever
Wendy O’Shaughnessy Toon
I miss you momma. ❤️