Arlene Brennan

Arlene Brennan passed peacefully in her home from natural causes on the morning of Inauguration Day. She was 94 years old. Arlene was kind, humble, loyal, and tireless. She could tackle any project, had an eye for detail, did not indulge complainers or idle hands, valued the truth even when it stung a little, and always had a twinkle in her eye. She enjoyed her family, her neighbors, her extensive gardens, keeping a tidy house, hosting family Christmas celebrations to remember, making endless cookies and pies for every occasion, reading romance novels by the dozen, games and puzzles, properly buttered raisin toast, and annual summertime trips to York Beach. Arlene was born in 1926--the third child of Gladys M. Hull and Louis W. Duquette who were both woolen mill spinners in East Rochester, NH. Along with her siblings, Beatrice, Louise, and James, Arlene grew up on Grove Street in East Rochester, graduating from Spaulding High School in 1944 (soon after D-Day). In 1945, she married Stephen Charles Brennan II and together they had two children: Stephen Charles Brennan III in 1947 and Sharon Louise Brennan in 1951. They would eventually purchase the house and lot adjoining her childhood home, where Arlene would go on to live for almost 70 years. Like so many in the Rochester area, she found steady lifetime employment in the shoe industry and later worked at the Boston Felt Company. She retired in the late 1990s to make more room for her favorite activities: gardening, maintaining her home and spending time with her family and pets. Arlene is predeceased by her three siblings Beatrice Arnault, Louise Nesbitt and Jim Duquette, her husband Steve Brennan, and her son "Stevie" Brennan of Maine and Costa Rica. She is survived by her daughter and best friend Sharon Brennan of New Hampshire, her two grand-daughters Dallas Brennan Rexer of New York and Avis Brennan Hains of California, her four great grandchildren Declan, Wyatt, Georgia and Wren, and eight nieces and nephews living across the country. A small family service is planned for the summer, in the garden she tended so lovingly. Arrangements are under the care of the R.M. Edgerly & Son Funeral Home, 86 South Main Street, Rochester, NH. To sign the online guestbook please visit www.edgerlyfh.com

Arlene Brennan

August 23, 1926 - January 20, 2021