116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Arlene Leota (Baumhoefener) Mineck
ARLENE LEOTA (BAUMHOEFENER) MINECK
Cedar Rapids
Arlene Leota (Baumhoefener) Mineck, 102, a lifelong resident of Cedar Rapids, passed away on Saturday, July 27, 2019.
A memorial gathering will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery. The graveside service will follow at 12:30 p.m. at Garden of the Cross, with the Chaplain Kay Mineck officiating.
Survivors include her son, Steven Mineck of Elmhurst, Ill., his wife, Kathy, and their children, Kristen and Carl; her grandson, Corey, and his wife, Suzanne and great-grandchildren, Mari and Bryn; granddaughter, Carrie and her husband, Joe Giunta; the mother of her grandchildren, Corey and Carrie, Penny Mineck; and her daughter-in-law Diana Mineck.
She was preceded in death by her husband, William Mineck, in 1972; and her son, David, in 2010.
Arlene was born in 1917 and grew up on a nursery on the southwest side. She studied fine art at Coe College for two years and then at Iowa State, where she graduated and married Bill Mineck in 1939. They managed several grocery stores in Cedar Rapids. When Bill was in the U.S. Army Air Force, stationed at Wheeler Field in Hawaii, she went to see him and arrived the night before the attack on Dec. 7, 1941. She witnessed the attack on Wheeler Field and the burning ships in Pearl Harbor. She was a member of First Lutheran Church, where she and Bill taught Sunday school for many years. She also designed many artworks for the church. Following Bill's passing, Arlene got her teaching certificate and taught art at Polk Elementary for eight years. During that time, she took up painting and traveled extensively, taking art education classes in the U.S. and Europe. When she retired, she began to paint professionally. She has many paintings featured in juried and solo art shows around the state, gaining critical commendation from the Iowa Watercolor Society. She lived an amazing life and was a great inspiration to her family and friends.
Memorials may be sent in her name to the Alzheimer's Association, 317 7 Ave. SE No. 402, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401 or online at www.alz.org/iowa.
Online condolences may be left at www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.
Daily Newsletters