Arlen R. Elliott, 96, of Muscatine, passed away on Thursday, November 7, 2024, surrounded by family at Lutheran Living Senior Campus in Muscatine. Private services will be held at a later date. The Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home will be in charge of arrangements.
Arlen was born to Rector P. Elliott and Lula T. Elliott on May 19, 1928, in Terre Haute, Indiana. He graduated from Wiley High School in Terre Haute, class of 1946, and earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Rose Polytechnic Institute in 1949. After graduation, he served in the US Army at the Chemical Center in Maryland.
Arlen married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Mae Powers, on October 5, 1950. They enjoyed 65 years together raising their four children.
In 1956, Arlen joined Grain Processing Corporation. Over his almost forty-year career with GPC, Arlen held a variety of positions in departments from Research and Development to Sales. He retired in 1993 as Vice President of Commodities.
In his younger years, Arlen owned and restored numerous antique autos. Favorites included a 1946 Ford Deluxe; a 1949 Ford Custom; and the award winning 1948 Chrysler Town & Country “Woodie”. Arlen was active in Ramblin’ Rodders and Muscatine Antique Car Club and passed his love of cars on to his sons.
In his later retirement years, Arlen rekindled his boyhood interest in model planes. He assembled well over one thousand models during his lifetime, meticulously researching each one. His knowledge was encyclopedic, and he loved to answer questions about design characteristics, battles flown, and production details.
Arlen was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Dorothy (2015); and two youngest children, Christopher Arlen Elliott (Edina, MN; 2024) and Mary Gail Donovan (LeClaire, IA; 2018): He is survived by his daughter Linda Susan Streuber and her husband, Jeff (Jewell, IA); son, Marc Alan Elliott and his wife, Nancy (Muscatine, IA); son-in-law, Kevin Donovan (LeClaire, IA); eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Arlen is also survived by his cherished companion, a calico cat named Abigail.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Muscatine Humane Society or It Takes a Village Animal Rescue, in Arlen’s memory. Online condolences may be made at www.wittichfuneralhome.com
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