A century of grace

Arlene Jean Kleist will celebrate an extraordinary milestone on Aug. 20, 2025: her 100th birthday.

A resident of Twin Cedar Living Center in Shohola, Pa., Kleist was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1925, and formerly lived in Hawley, Pa. She has lived through an entire century of American history while creating her own remarkable legacy of faith, creativity and quiet strength.

Kleist’s artistic spirit emerged early. At 15, she sat mesmerized in a Cleveland theater watching Disney’s “Fantasia” which became her lifelong favorite film. As a teenager, she learned to sew from her mother, Martha, and quickly mastered not only basic needlework but developed into a highly skilled seamstress whose talents would serve her family and community for decades.

In 1944, at a U.S.O. dance in Cleveland, the then 19-year-old met Robert “Bob” Kleist, beginning a wartime romance. When they married in 1946, Arlene made her own wedding dress — a beautiful example of both her practical skills and the resourceful spirit of her generation.

Railroad life brought constant adventure and change. As Bob’s career advanced, they moved frequently — from Cleveland to Wilmington, Delaware, then Altoona and Pittsburgh, Pa., Terre Haute, Ind., Hamburg, N.Y., and Fort Washington, Md. Arlene embraced this nomadic lifestyle with grace:

“I didn’t mind at all,” she said - but when the children reached high school age, she insisted they stay put until the girls graduated.

As a young mother to daughters Donna and Diane, Kleist discovered inner reserves of courage and decisiveness. With her husband traveling extensively, she often managed household challenges alone, including a memorable kitchen fire where her quick thinking prevented disaster. These experiences transformed the once-timid girl into a confident woman who learned to trust in her faith.

Throughout her adult years, Kleist’s creativity flourished in service to others. She made all her daughters’ clothing, volunteered countless hours sewing garments for charity, and found particular joy in crafting authentic period costumes for Colonial American reenactments, where she would also occasionally participate as an actor. Her artistic flair shined in their square dancing hobby, where she created fabulous colorful skirts for herself and matching cowboy shirts for Bob.

The good life they built together included memorable adventures. In the 1960s, while the girls were in high school, she and Bob took an unforgettable journey on the original Orient Express through Austria and Italy. She also found joy in quieter pleasures, particularly her love of mystery novels and Agatha Christie.

Faith has been Kleist’s anchor through 10 decades of living. She maintains deep trust in God’s guidance and approaches decisions with clarity. “I never had any hard choices,” she said. Her core values reflect what she proudly calls “a hard-working, honest generation.”

Perhaps most remarkably, despite witnessing a century of change and countless personal challenges, Kleist maintains an extraordinary perspective. Her favorite memory from 100 years of life? “It was all a good memory,” she said.

Though she lost Bob in October 1994, Arlene is surrounded by the family they built together — two daughters, three grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

Profound gratitude captures the essence of Arlene Kleist, a woman who embraced adventure, found purpose in serving others, strength in faith, and joy in creating beauty with her own hands.