Arlene Andre

Arlene Kay Andre passed away peacefully at her home in Bismarck in the early morning hours of January 4, 2014, with her husband Tom Disselhorst nearby, after a long battle with cancer. A memorial service will be held on January 9, 2013, starting at 2:00 pm, at McCabe Methodist Church in Bismarck, 1130 N. 6th St, Bismarck, ND, 58501, with Rev. Rick Fossum officiating. There will be no visitation. Cremation has taken place. Arlene Andre was born March 12, 1954, in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, of two American citizens, Genevieve Andre and Allen Raymond Andre; her father was a salesman for an American company doing business in Canada. She and her parents and younger brother moved to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin not too long after her brother was born, and lived there until her father and mother moved permanently to Bismarck, North Dakota in 1962. Arlene graduated from Bismarck High School in 1972, and from the University of North Dakota in 1977, with a degree in planning. Early on Arlene showed much artistic talent. She also studied piano under concert pianist Erma Garrity of Bismarck, and enjoyed perfecting difficult pieces by Ravel and Debussy. While in college Arlene was proud to have worked as an intern under then Tax Commissioner Byron Dorgan, Assistant Tax Commissioner Kent Conrad, and with Earl Pomeroy, then a driver for the Tax Commissioner and her direct boss, Lucy Calautti. Her grandmother, Pearl Andre, and Arlene's early political mentor, was a lifelong activist for the Democratic-NPL party, and Arlene always said she knew how to say "Democrat" before she could say "mother" or "father." Arlene went to work for the Community Action Program CAP in Bismarck after college. It was while working for CAP in late 1978, that Arlene was introduced by a mutual friend to her soon to be husband, Tom Disselhorst, then an attorney for Legal Assistance of North Dakota now Legal Services of North Dakota. They were married on May 25, 1980 in Bismarck. From her time as a high school student, Arlene was an active participant in a number of political efforts, including the Bismarck Chapter of the National Organization for Women. She was also active in political campaigns, such as Jesse Jackson's campaign for the Presidency in 1984, with her husband, and spoke up strongly for improving the lot of farmers, workers and rural citizens at a national campaign meeting in New York City in 1984. Arlene marched on the South African Embassy in 1985 with various groups in protest of apartheid. Later, she helped several South African anti-apartheid activists tour North Dakota. Also in 1985, she was very proud to have been chosen by her friend Brian Palecek to come up with a list of potential commission members for the North Dakota Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission, and to transmit that list to friends she knew in the administration of Governor George Bud Sinner. Her work was seminal in the creation of the Commission and the establishment of the permanent holiday in North Dakota. Arlene and her husband hoped to have children, but health barriers prevented that, even after Arlene had surgery to remove benign tumors. So, as her nieces and nephews grew older, Arlene devoted much of her time to them and was very proud of their many accomplishments, in boys hockey, girls basketball and soccer, and in their academic pursuits. She went to as many ice hockey, soccer and basketball games as she could, rooting on her family members at every opportunity. Arlene also always showed a penchant for gardening and being a green thumb. She planted a beautiful garden of flowers in baskets every spring, along with other perennials and annuals around the townhouse she and her husband called home. And then, after she was diagnosed with cancer, she discovered RVing!! She and her husband bought a small RV that had everything needed to live independently, and this past year 2013 they traveled 9, 000 miles, traveling several different routes back and forth to California to see Tom's relatives and attend a wedding. Arlene loved the camper and the time it gave her to be with her husband. Arlene loved her nieces and nephews on both sides of her family, and they loved her. She is survived by her husband Tom Disselhorst, Bismarck; her brother and sister in law, Paul and Teresa Andre, Bismarck; her nieces and nephews, Vanessa Andre daughters Zoe, Kaylee and Haily, son Isaac Saskatchewan, Canada; Jill and Nicholas Cherubin, daughter Kyanna and son Lucia Ft. Collins, CO; Daniel Andre, Bismarck; Matthew Andre, Bismarck; and Jennifer Andre Bismarck; as well as her cousins Marcie Andre, Bismarck, and Byron Andre, Bismarck; uncle, Robert Andre Mayville, ND – daughter Larke Andre; aunt, Georgia Seidlitz, Philomath, OR, and her children and grandchildren; a great aunt, Virginia Frerichs, Nebraska; great uncle and aunt, Charles and Tilly Shipley, Steele, and their children, John and Laura Shipley, Steele, Mark and Jackie Shipley, Steele, Linda Shipley and Wes Vettle, Bismarck , KathyShipley and Lennie Schlabach, Bismarck. She was preceded in death by her parents, Genevieve and Allen Andre. The family wishes to thank the St. Alexius Hospice and Medical Care Program, and Dakota Travel Nurse for their expert care during very difficult holiday circumstances. Arlene lived life as well as anyone. She loved her family and her husband, and was not afraid to embrace difficult causes. She will be missed by all who knew her.

Arlene Andre

March 12, 1954 - January 4, 2014