| Honored by: | Her four sons: Tim, Mark, Chris, and Andy Arends |
| Brick location: | C:29 map |
Born: August 13, 1936 in Webster City, Iowa
Education: Stanhope High School Stanhope, Iowa 1954; Iowa State College, BS Home Economics Education, 1958; Iowa State University, MS Home Economics Education, 1969
Career: Teacher, Small Businesswoman, Farmer, Educator, Homemaker, Community Member, Stanhope Community Betterment Committee, Elder
Activities: Christian Church; District Officer Iowa Federated Women's' Clubs; Den Leader Cub Scouts; Honorary Chapter Farmer South Hamilton FFA; Member Hamilton County Home Advisory Committee; Member South High Pride and South Hamilton Music Boosters
Family: Married--Larry Gene Arends (b. 1937) July 2, 1958; Children--Timothy Blane (b. 1963), Mark Jay (b. 1964), Chris Lee (b. 1968), Andrew John (b. 1969)
Why are we honoring this woman? A list of her activities, interests, and career does not do her justice. We honor her not only for what she has done and continues to do for us, but also for what she does for others. She not only gave us gifts of material things, but more importantly, her values, her time, and encouragement. And these gifts she also gave to others.
From Tim: I am honoring my mother not because she is famous, or because she made the six o'clock news, or the front page of the newspaper, but because of her commitment to higher education that she instilled in her four sons. Her commitment to education inspired each of us to graduate from college and pursue graduate degrees. It is therefore only appropriate that we publicly honor her here at her alma mater.
From Chris: This tribute is just a small token of affection for the two greatest gifts children could receive from their mother. The first was her time. In between breaking up fights and assigning chores, Mom always had time for us. She attended football games, fall plays, you name it. If one of us was in it, she was there. The second gift was the encouragement and freedom to become our own person. All four of us were in a wide variety of activities while growing up, but never was there pressure for us to do something that we did not want to do. Even more importantly, there was never anyone saying, "NO! Don't do that!" This must have been a hard impulse to fight as we one by one left the nest. She must have constantly wondered what was going through our minds with some of the decisions we made. Somehow, she always knew when to let us fall and when to be there to help us get back on our feet. Thanks, Mom, for the two things that mean the most to us.
From Andy: I am honoring my mother for the sacrifices she made. Through good times and bad she made sure we had more than we needed, even when just enough was more than she could afford in time, energy, or money. For the times she let a young boy read when he should have been doing his chores to encourage his love for reading; for the many lessons about working on the farm so he might learn how to work; for the support of his activities so he might enjoy sports, music, drama, and travel; for the support of his education so he might have the best learning opportunity he could achieve; for the orange, Denver Broncos coat, the army playset, the fancy shirt, and all the other times she made material sacrifices so he might fulfill material wants and needs; for her congo bars, lasagna, turkey, meat loaf (yes her delicious meat loaf), tatertot casserole, and blueberry pancakes so he might know delicious foods from a loving kitchen; for her support for his travels and thirst for knowledge so he might see the world; for her lessons about God so he might know eternal life; for teaching him about love, life, patience, forgiving, and kindness so he might live a happy life. This and so much more is why this no longer young boy is honoring his mother.
Tim, Chris, and Andy have made it clear how giving their mother was to them. Mothers after all want to do their best for their children. But Mark's explanation of why he is honoring his mother perhaps says the most about what kind of person Jane Arends really is.
From Mark: I would like to honor my mother not for what she has done for me, but for what she does for others. The things she does for others are the types of things that typically go unnoticed. Always saying, "Hello" as you pass in the street; allowing someone else to dominate a conversation with the topics they want to discuss no matter how boring or inane; asking questions of you even when the answer was trivial; stopping to talk to someone who others avoid, simply to give them some human contact. The list could go on and on. While these things may seem trivial, it is indicative of the person Jane Arends is. Her contact with you may be slight and often go unnoticed, but it always makes your day a little better. I know she does mine. 5/16/94