Obituary of Arlene Amelia Custer

Arlene Amelia Fisher was born on October 5, 1926 in Riga, Michigan. She was one of thirteen children raised from the union of the late Fred Fisher and the late Amelia (Bruhn) Fisher.

Arlene met the love of her life, Robert L. Custer, and they married on June 22, 1946 in Milan, Michigan. From this union came the birth of three children. Arlene worked hard to care for her family by taking employment as the deputy clerk of Petersburg for many years and also worked from home for some time. She was an avid leader for the community and proud to be the first woman on the board of review. She retired in 1992.

Arlene was a proud wife, mother and grandmother, better known as “Nana”. She cherished her time spent with her family and looked forward to playing board games with them, especially 500 Rummy and word searches. Arlene enjoyed long conversations on the phone, taking trips to Greektown casino with her sister and watching as many baseball games as she could, as she was an avid Detroit Tigers fan. She loved living on the farm, mostly because it taught her to appreciate the simple things in life. 

Arlene Amelia Custer, age 92 of Petersburg, passed away at 5:57pm on Saturday, February 9, 2019 at her home under the care of ProMedica Hospice. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband on February 22, 1992: Robert L. Custer; her eleven siblings and her parents.

To cherish her memory, Arlene leaves her twin daughters: LuAnn Custer of Petersburg and JoAnn (Keith) Aspray of South Carolina; her son: Robert (Tina) Custer of Monroe; one sister: Dorothy Custer of Lambertville; and four grandchildren: Kristen Aspray of Atlanta, Georgia, Dustin (Nicole) Aspray of Sydney, Australia, Eric Custer of Monroe and Lauren Custer of Monroe. She is also survived by many extended family members and friends.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Merkle Funeral Service, Dundee, 297 Tecumseh Street, (734) 529-3156 where private services will take place. Interment will take place at Pleasantview Cemetery in Summerfield Township.

Memorials for those who desire are suggested to the charity or organization of the donor’s choice in honor of Arlene Custer. Online guests may leave words of inspiration and comfort or share a photo by visiting www.merklefs.com.