Arlene Mary Zimpleman

Arlene Wilson Zimpleman, born March 24, 1926, passed peacefully at the age of 98 on September 6, 2024. This gentle woman leaves a legacy of a long, full life that spans the tribulations of the World War II era and into our digital age. She began her life’s journey in Mallard, Iowa with her parents Leroy and Evelyn Leuer who homesteaded a farmhouse. Her siblings Lois, John. Mary Evelyn and Pam would share the responsibilities of farm life, attend catholic school in Mallard and attend mass regularly. In her happiest of days, you would find her riding and caring for her beloved pony, Tony. After graduating from Mallard High School, she was off to study education in Cedar Falls where she earned a certification to teach country school near Estherville.

Arlene married her sweetheart Joseph Wilson in 1947 and started a family of six children in Curlew, Iowa. Her eldest son Bryan Lee Wilson gave his life for our country in Vietnam in 1968. Shortly after her eldest passed, she lost her husband Joe in a car accident. Arlene persisted, raising her family in Williamsburg. She served as a postal worker where she met a rural letter carrier named Henry Zimpleman. They married in 1978 and built a home nestled on farmland on the outskirts of Williamsburg. Here you would find Arlene with her hands in the rich Iowa soil, tending to her vegetable gardens and preening her flowers. Summer tomatoes were a simple pleasure that fed into canning, pickling and cooking for loved ones. She and Henry would winter in Pharr, TX where they enjoyed travels and a robust social life among other snowbirds, but it was during the Iowa summers that Arlene really thrived. You may find her on the Williamsburg golf course (holding on for dear life while her grandchildren learned to drive the golf cart), she was always trying to improve her swing, but only competing against herself. Important outings included visits to the Amana Colonies, Kalona and coffee with folks at the local McDonalds. Once she gathered the hot Williamsburg gossip, it was back to actual dirt in the garden. When the Iowa heat was too much midday, she may retire to the davenport and watch her “stories”. The drama of “The Bold and the Beautiful” would keep her attention until a catnap ensued. Then it was back at it, toiling in the dirt, tending to the bees, and tracking the visiting birds. A walk down the lane to check how tall the corn grew was common, but in later years she enjoyed a stroll at the local Williamsburg recreation center where she would visit with friends. The simple pleasures of life were what drove her into a ripe old age. A peaceful routine is nothing to scoff at when you admire a life well lived. She enjoyed her family through all the painful trials of loss and joys of new beginnings. She is now at peace and those she leaves behind will celebrate every sorrowful, humorous and precious story that played out in her time with us. Her legacy is a life well-lived indeed.

She is survived by her children: David Wilson (Beverly) of Grand Junction, CO. Melissa Daggett (Bill) of Des Moines, Jeffrey Wilson of Williamsburg, Joe Wilson (LeAnn) of Parnell, and Tobias Wilson of Williamsburg. Her grandkids, scattered over many states, are Suzie Daggett, Rachel Wilson, Teri Reese, Annie Marske, Bobbi Jo Jaime and Hannah Hammes, who provided her with 10 great grandchildren.

 Arlene was a member of the VFW Auxiliary. 

Funeral Mass will be held 11:00 am on Friday, September 13, 2024 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Williamsburg. Visitation will be on Friday from 10 am until service time. There will be a rosary at 9:30 am Burial will be held at a later date, at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Mallard, IA. Memorials may be given to St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Williamsburg. Messages and tributes may be left at www.powellfuneralhomes.com.