Arlene Wieland

Arlene Feller Wieland, 91, of Pompano Beach, Florida went to be with the Lord at 11:16 on Sunday morning, September 25, 2022, surrounded by her loving family. Her peaceful passing followed a long battle with COPD.

We will honor her life, her legacy, and the phenomenal matriarch that she was, and still is, to us, her family and all who knew her. The service will be at 12:15 pm on Sunday October 16th, 2022, at Forest Lawn Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens in Davie, Florida.

Born Arlene Delores Feller in Cissna Park, Illinois on March 31, 1931, to Edward P. and Louise G. Feller. She is survived by her two loving children, Krent Wieland (Susan Wieland) and Heather Wieland Pomeroy (Randall Pomeroy); four grandchildren, Amy Wieland Carlson (Kristian Carlson), Chelsea Wieland Gould (James Gould), Kylee Pomeroy Neville (James Bradley Neville) and Jordan Pomeroy Novak (Matthew Novak); ten great grandchildren, Austin Avery,Dylan Avery(Alicia Avery), Brayden Carlson, Peyton & Stella Novak, Wyatt, Wade & Walker Neville, and Jovi Gould with a little brother due in early ‘23; and 1 great-great grandchild, Hailey Mele. She is also survived by her sister, Wilma Ruth Baier, 97, of Monticello, IL.

She joins in heaven her beloved husband of 65 years, James (Jim) T. Wieland, her parents, and 8 siblings, Joel, Earl, Emanuel, Edward Jr., Emily, Ann, Cora, and Helen.

In her teen years, she attended and graduated from Cissna Park High School and experienced working in her father’s butcher shop, known to all as Feller’s Locker.

Arlene was raised in the Apostolic Christian Church. A note in her Bible reads that she gave her life to the Lord in August of 1950 after reading Psalm 19: 12-14.

Arlene married Jim Wieland on August 19,1951 and the two began a long, beautiful life and family together. Jim loved his wife beyond measure and spoke often of his adoration for her. As Arlene’s children grew up, she worked as a bookkeeper and administrative assistant. She also volunteered at the local hospitals.

Jim and Arlene moved to Fort Lauderdale Florida in 1972 and founded a retail furniture and design store called Contemporary One on the Galt Mile. Jim then later went into design and consulting as Wieland Design Associates, specializing in custom residential, office and yacht design. Arlene worked for Hill Lighting & Engel Homes at the time but also completely managed Contemporary One and Wieland Design Associates. When she left Engel, the owners asked incredulously why it took hiring 3 people to do the job that Arlene did all on her own! Arlene finished her working years at the age of 81 with Howell Plumbing.

Both Jim & Arlene donated many years of their time and creativity to the 1st Baptist Ft Lauderdale Christmas pageant. In later years, they donated their time and creativity to their church family at Plantation Baptist Church.

Arlene was an excellent cook and was famous in the Wieland family and beyond for her awesome pies. Preparing meals from scratch for dozens of guests at a time didn’t faze her and she did so throughout her life for church events and family gatherings. Her recipes were a little bit of this, and a little bit of that until it was “just so” in her words. Never were there complaints but always leftovers to share. She made a point of it. Among her legendary dishes was her world renowned “wet” Grammy dressing, Wieland chocolate sauce, pies of all kinds, crust pie (made from leftover crust, brown sugar and just a splash of milk – which was a big treat!!), and Dad’s favorite, Trilbies (a cookie – which she later confessed she made only because she loved Dad so much, because they were a LOT of work).

Arlene was fine with Jim doing the driving, but when she did drive, it was with “the petal to the metal”. (Jim always said, ‘drive like it’s on purpose!’)

Long before computers made it so easy, Arlene hand wrote individual letters and sent personal gifts to literally hundreds of children thru Compassion International. To this day she still receives cards and letters from those, now grown, children due to her very special love and time spent with each of them.

In recent years, as Jim succumbed to illness, Arlene cared for him with unparalleled strength and unconditional love. A true testament to their bond and marriage. After his death in 2016, Arlene focused even more intently on her extended family. Known to her grandchildren as Grammy or Gram, Arlene was a gentle and loving grand/great grand/great-great grandmother who was absolutely adored by ALL. By ALL we mean all that were blessed enough to have her in their life, even if only in passing. Her Christian faith was evident in all that she did. She was a texter and facebooker, keeping in daily touch with her friends and family.

Bladder cancer tried to get her in 2020, but she fought it off successfully. In the end, the lifelong COPD could not be overcome.

Though she is no longer here with us on earth, she will NEVER be forgotten. She will be missed dearly, but our wonderful memories of her will live on and make us smile and laugh. We know that she is with the Lord, that she has been given new life and breath, and that one day she and Jim will run to greet each of us at the gates of Heaven.

Visitation will be at Forest Lawn,2401 Davie Road, Davie Florida at 12:15pm on Sunday, October 16th. The memorial service will follow at 1pm. At that time, anyone wishing to speak about their time with Arlene is encouraged to do so, as a microphone will be available. The family would love to hear what anyone has to share. Internment onsite will be after the service at 2pm. And for those that would like to join us, there will be a Celebration repast following at The Wieland home. Contact Krent or Sue for directions.

In lieu of flowers, Compassion International was a big part of Arlene’s life. Donations can be made by following this link: compassion.com/arlenewieland