Arlene Merle Cox was born 1934 in Murdo, SD, to Amy and Harold Iwan, one of 11 children. She was raised in the early years on a ranch south of Belvidere. Dad bought an old hotel in White River, S.D., in 1944. Some of the older children stayed there, and they boarded 3 children and one teacher, the roads were like gumbo and 19 people and 3 meals a day. She went to school in White River, 6 ^th through 9 ^th grade and the family moved to Roubaix in 1948. She went to high school in Lead one year and graduated from Deadwood high school in 1951.

Arlene married Jerry Carter in 1951, in which 3 children were born. They built Fish and Fry on Hwy 385 in 1959. She worked at Deadwood Hospital for 15-20 years. She was given on-the-job training in the X-ray department and worked in that department for 8 years.

Arlene married Gene Cox in 1968. We sold our land in town to Pizza Hut when gambling passed and moved our home to the country where we lived until Gene passed in 1995. I then moved back to town in Deadwood in 1996.

Gene and I bought Shamrock Drive-In and Restaurant in 1972. We sold it in 1977, when he partnered with friends and managed a motel in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We got the Shamrock back in 1980 and ran in for another 3 years before selling it again. She worked as cashier at Best Western Hickory House several years.

Arlene hobbies were sewing quilts. Her favorite was providing quilts for Casa Kids and nursing homes. She also made Christmas socks and filled them with donations to give to nursing home residents at Christmas time. She made bonnets for the historic society of Butte County for an historic school in Belle Fourche where they used them for Children's Programs. She also counted money and made deposits for the Northern Hills Baptist Church and quilted table toppers for the social room.

Arlene volunteered 20 years on the Supervisory Board at the Dakota Territory Credit Union, delivered Meals on Wheels and Bag Ladies and served on VFW Auxiliary Trust.

Arlene Merle Cox, 89, of Deadwood, SD, died May 6, 2023, in the Hospice House in Waterloo, Iowa.

Arlene is survived by 3 children: Jon (Lori), Susan (Craig) Kneppe, and Sheri; 5 brothers: Rodney, Darrell, Floyd, Joe, and Roger; 8 grandchildren; 7 great grandchildren; and 31 nieces and nephews.

Preceded in death by husband, Gene in 1995, sisters, Beryl Jean, Phyllis, Joyce, brother, Paul, Don, and parents, Amy and Harold Iwan.

Memorial services will be 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 20, 2023, at First Baptist Church in Deadwood, SD.

A memorial has been established to Northern Hills CASA.

Services will be livestreamed.

Click on the link to view service folder