Arlene Ruth (Martin) Mark

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Arlene Ruth Martin Mark, daughter of Joseph Preston Martin and Mamie Susan Reiff Martin, was born July 30, 1931 in Hagerstown, Maryland and raised in Maugansville, Maryland. She devoted her life to her family, her church, service to others and words. She died at Greencroft, Goshen, IN Saturday, October 29, 2022, at the age of 91.

She was the youngest of six. She grew up with three older brothers, Mervin, Glenn, and Dale. Her siblings Warren and Rheta died in infancy. Her community was small and her church conservative. Higher education was not only uncommon but frowned on, especially for women. With the support of her father, she attended Eastern Mennonite High School and then Eastern Mennonite College (EMU) for two years, the first in her family to attend college. Because she desired a more liberal education, she taught for two years to earn enough money to attend Goshen College without her father’s support. She graduated with a degree in teaching and was immediately hired. In later years she studied Teaching English as a Second Language and tutored in Elkhart.

After graduating from Goshen College in 1955, she spent the summer working through a Students in Industry unit in Chicago. She and George Mark rekindled a relationship, having been seated in alphabetical order in their high school English class. They married in the Goshen College church chapel on December 17, 1955. They moved frequently during George’s medical training and 1-W service (alternative to military) before settling in Elkhart, Indiana where they lived for over 50 years before moving to Goshen. They raised four children: Susan (Dennis Landis), David (Dawn Catalino), Paul (Kimberley MacDonald) and Scott (Summer Quimby).  Arlene delighted in her eleven grandchildren, Laura (Adam) Yoder, Joel (Mikaela Bender) Landis, Eric Mark, Nicole Mark, Natalie (Spencer) Moore, Nate Mark, Hannah (Craig) Thompson, Jacob Mark, Anne (Nathan) Sipple, John Mark and Brian Mark, and six great-grandchildren, Theodore, Camila and Sebastian Yoder, and Beckett, Addison and Brooks Landis. George, Scott, Summer and all her brothers preceded Arlene in death.

Shortly after moving to Elkhart, they became active members of Prairie Street Mennonite Church where they made many lifelong friends. Arlene was involved in local, conference and national church leadership. She preached the first sermon by a female in many congregations, advocating for women’s full participation while not being allowed to stand behind the pulpit. A lover of words and worship, she studied graduate courses at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Notre Dame. She compiled the first Mennonite book of worship liturgy, “Words for Worship,” which continues to be a well-used reference book. She also wrote Sunday school and Bible school materials for children.

She appreciated good food, music, poetry and literature and valued travel with and to visit friends. Her greatest joy was stimulating conversation with friends and family, especially over well-prepared meals with laughter. Arlene was an avid reader as a child and passed that love on to her descendants and students.  She read and reviewed books and greatly relished participating in the Elkhart Riverside club.

Arlene believed strongly in giving to others. Her neighbors and church friends knew her as the first to bring a meal in times of turmoil. She shared her organizational skills by serving on many nonprofit boards, including Church Community Services in Elkhart, General Board of the Mennonite Church and was the first female chair of the Board of Overseers of Goshen College.  She blessed many with her advice and generous financial contributions.

Her greatest pleasures in life were her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She provided multiple educational experiences for her children, and she loved to read to and dote on her grandchildren.

Rather than flowers, please donate to Arlene’s passions, Church Community Services in Elkhart, or Goshen College student scholarship fund for first generation students.

A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m., Saturday, December 3, 2022 at College Mennonite Church, Goshen. Yoder-Culp Funeral Home is assisting the family.