Arlene Gale Luciano

Arlene, who was born on July 20, 1955, in New York, N.Y., was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Luciano, and her parents, Ruth and Edward Diskin. She is survived by her sons Joseph, Mark and Gary Luciano; daughter Rachel Luciano and her partner, Eddie Robinson, Jr.; brother Alan Diskin and wife, Linda; and brother Michael Lander and wife, Breta.

Arlene grew up in New Jersey and New York enjoying a good life provided by caring and loving parents. She and her brother Alan had fun with the family on road trips to places such as Lake George, Atlanta, Canada, Miami Beach, Denver and Los Angeles. After graduating Ramapo Senior High School in 1973, Arlene, who had an interest in nursing, was employed at Nyack Hospital. It was there she met the love of her life, Frank Luciano, whom she married on August 9, 1975, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Spring Valley, N.Y.

Arlene was a fabulous homemaker, raising her four children, and went on to spend her whole life as a devoted wife and mother. She gave her all and then some, making a beautiful life for her family. No one in her family ever spent a moment feeling unloved or neglected. Holidays were marked with lavish meals as she tried to emulate her mother's cooking skills, and there always was lots of fun for all.

The family moved to South Florida in 1985, and the change in location did nothing to change Arlene’s devotion to making a beautiful life for her family.

Following the death of her husband Frank in 2002, Arlene gave her energy to caring for her mother, Ruth, who died in 2013.

Arlene and sons Joseph and Mark moved to Texas in 2014 to be closer to her son Gary, who left Florida in 2011 for a job in Austin. Arlene brought her love with her and enjoyed a beautiful, brand new home, where she resided until her death.

When Arlene wasn’t caring for her family, she enjoyed the music of The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and Kenny Rogers. By far, Elvis was her favorite, and Arlene enjoyed decorating her room with pictures of him. She had a large Elvis tapestry on her wall, and she even had Elvis keeping time for her with an Elvis-themed clock. She used an Elvis wall calendar, on which she noted all of the important dates in her life. Many of them were birthdays and special occasions of her loved ones.

Those birthdays and special occasions were always marked with gifts and cards. Arlene never failed to send a greeting card to anyone in the family. And in return, she loved receiving cards and kept dozens of them, cherishing them for years. Arlene also was one to keep pictures of all those special days, as well as baby pictures and vacation pictures. She loved to reminisce and look back on the special times in her life.

Another thing Arlene loved to do was decorate. Fourth of July and Memorial Day brought out decorations the same as bigger holidays such as Hanukkah and Christmas. It brought her such joy to see a bright, well-decorated home.

It didn't take much to make Arlene happy. The simple act of taking her out to a movie and dinner was more than enough to bring her joy. She just cherished spending time with her loved ones, and it didn't matter how the time was spent.

Arlene’s loving ways extended well beyond her family. Friends and coworkers were cared for as if they were part of the family, and she put a lot of effort into her job. For example, during the last few years of her life, Arlene enjoyed a part-time job at Tuesday Morning, where her work ethic and caring attitude earned her compliments from customers and the admiration of her coworkers. It was just another example of how Arlene went above and beyond in everything she did.

Arlene died knowing in her final days she got the thing she enjoyed most in life: all four of her children were together with her. There was nothing else that could warm her heart as much.

Arlene will be missed greatly by the many people who were lucky to enjoy her loving presence.