Arlene was born Sept 18, 1974, the fourth daughter to Howard and Brenda Smith. She grew up in Lake Four on the farm with her four sisters Charlene, Colleen, Pauline, Jolene and her brother Colin. She attended school in Debden from 1979 – until she graduated in 1993. After graduation, she moved to Debden and lived with her sister, Charlene, and her brother-in-law, Lawrence. She loved to laugh and have fun, and always made friends easily. For the next three years she waitressed at the local restaurant in Debden. It was during this time that she met Jason. She and a couple of friends then decided to move to Saskatoon, she got a job working in a lounge at a bowling alley. She only worked in Saskatoon for a year then decided to move to Canwood and lived with Jason. A short while later Jason got a job on the rigs near Macklin and Arlene moved with him. Here she worked at a Motel as a housekeeper. They made Macklin their home for five years. While in Macklin, they had their first son Cody, born April 27, 1996. July 19, 1997 Arlene married the love of her life Jason Bischler. June 1, 1998 they had their second son Brett.
In 2000, Arlene and Jason decided to sell their house in Macklin and move back to Canwood to help with the family potato business. Feb 28, 2002 they had their third son Demery. During the summer of 2006, they renovated their house due to their growing family, they needed more room. The following year they had a beautiful baby girl, Jenaya, born April 3, 2007. After having three boys, Arlene was so excited to finally have her baby girl.
I think we will all remember Arlene as being a kind and loving person, who was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the out. She always had a smile on her face. Arlene’s life revolved around her family. Family was most important to her. She often hosted family gatherings and always supported the kids in every activity they became involved it. Arlene would often get involved in these activities herself. She was the Coordinator for the Nancy Greene Ski club, which her children were involved with. 4-H was another commitment of meetings, travelling, fundraising and helping the children with the animals.
Arlene was an outdoors girl. She worked on the farm and at the family business and she could out work any of the hired hands. In her spare time, Arlene enjoyed gardening, boating, camping, fishing and curling. Arlene always kept a beautiful garden with many flowers, complete with a waterfall and pond. She took pride in this and was admired by many. She enjoyed camping with family and friends. She would spend a couple of weeks at the lake every summer usually while the kids attended swimming lessons.
As much as Arlene loved devoting herself to her family, she also enjoyed time to herself. Arlene was involved with a Splurge group that met monthly. She was good friends with the ladies of this group and always looked forward to their get togethers.
Arlene demonstrated a deep commitment to family, friends, and especially to her loving husband, Jason. The unwavering devotion and love for each other could be seen by everyone.
Arlene was diagnosed with Cancer the summer of 2011. She fought this disease to the end but it ultimately won the battle. She passed away Sept 4, 2013 at St. Paul’s hospital in Saskatoon with her loving husband Jason and family by her side.
Celebration of Life Service for Arlene was held on Monday, September 9, 2013 from the Canwood Community Hall, Canwood, SK with Doris Wideen-Bazley officiating. She was laid to rest at the Family Farm. Funeral Arrangements were entrusted to Hawryluk Funeral Home, Canwood, SK.