Arabel Marjorie was born to Ara and Marjorie Harned on February 27, 1922 in Portland. To see her in her adult years, you would never have known that she weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds at birth!
Her parents, along with her two older sisters, Lelia (Lee-La) and Mary moved around a great deal in their jobs of managing apartments and hotels, so she attended many different schools in the Portland area. She ended her high school years at Commerce High, which is now called Cleveland High School.
It was in 1939 that Lelia and her future husband Dan introduced Arabel to the handsome Larry Meier at a chivaree. For you young folks, a chivaree is a jovial party, typically put on by friends and neighbors, in which the bride and groom are affectionately harassed before being sent off on their honeymoon.
Larry enjoyed driving his ’34 Chevy convertible to pick Arabel up from school. He would signal his arrival by honking the cars Aooga Horn, which really made an impression if the classroom windows were open! The principal was NOT happy with the interruption it caused and politely asked him to stop!! After dating a few months, he was totally smitten with this beautiful brunette and married her in April of 1940.
Larry, along with his parents John and Theresa, had recently purchased a dairy farm in Boring. At that time, Boring was a little hamlet way out in the middle of nowhere! Can you imagine this little city girl being thrust in to the life of learning to become a farmer’s wife, something she knew nothing about? The sights and smells must have been very overwhelming! The newlyweds lived with Larry’s parents on the farm while a home was being prepared for them. Later affectionately called the “honeymoon cottage”, it was actually 2 pig barns that had been moved in to place, put together and added on to, except there wasn’t any indoor plumbing! That is until they went to Sears and Roebuck and purchased a claw foot tub, sink and toilet. She loved every minute of being a farmer’s wife and embraced her duties with the quiet dignity that was so much a part of her life.
With the purchase of the farm came a booth at the old Portland farmer’s market on SW 4th and Yamhill. The booth at the market was so busy that on Fridays and Saturdays, Larry would drive Arabel, their young son, Gale, and Theresa down to the market with milk to sell, along with homemade cottage cheese, homemade pork sausage (an old family recipe), and head cheese and scrapple. Larry’s dad was a real stickler for cleanliness, and this sausage was so popular, that it sold before they could even unload it off of the truck. The women stayed there most of the day until John or Larry would pick them up. The money the farm earned at this market helped to pay off their loans much earlier than anticipated.
Larry and Arabel had four more children: Sheryl, Marijane, Rosemarie and Laura.
Arabel had never learned to drive so Larry taught her at the wheel of a milk truck. She had so much patience that she taught all 5 of their kids how to drive, thankfully …... in a car!!
She was no stranger to hard work. Besides keeping up with the farm work, the house and 5 busy children, she found time to raise AKC registered Cocker Spaniel dogs, sew for her family, and grow a large vegetable garden every year. She was also very involved in being a 4-H leader, teaching sewing and knitting to local girls. She, along with another local farmers wife, Lorraine Aschoff, formed the very first Boring 4-H Dairy Club, which until recent years, was still active. She also enjoyed her flower beds. Arabel would say that pulling weeds was her therapy! Even this spring, she was already planning her garden and what new flowers she would put in and where they should go.
It was at a Billy Graham crusade that came to Portland in 1950 where she came to know the Lord. Although Larry had been raised in a Christian home, he had not yet asked the Lord in to his heart. Arabel would constantly be in prayer for his salvation all the while making sure their children were in Sunday school and church. Her pastor, Cabbot Johnson, would often find Larry on the milk route and talk to him about his heart and where he would spend eternity. Sometimes God uses a tragic accident to get our attention, and that’s what it took for Larry.
On January 31st, 1964, a drunk driver suddenly took the life of their beloved daughter, Marijane. She was just 16 years old, driving home from an after school job. This young gal loved the Lord and served Him with all of her heart. The morning of her death, she had been reading Revelations 21 and had underlined the 4th verse where John talks about what it will be like in heaven. This verse states “He (God) will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” NIV. Larry actually fell to his knees and accepted Christ as his Savior at the side of Marijane’s casket. He wanted to make sure that he would spend eternity, not only with his new-found Savior, but with all of his loved ones that had passed on before.
In their later years, when Larry was semi-retired, they traveled to Europe, touring his beloved Switzerland and visiting daughter Laura and her family in Germany. These were wonderful times of relaxation and stress relief. They were also “snowbirds”, and would travel to Arizona every winter, which was good therapy for both of them, but also because Larry’s health was failing. They continued to work together on the farm as well. The job they both loved the most was feeding the calves. Arabel truly missed this job when, after nearly 50 years, it was decided to discontinue farming and all of the animals and equipment were sold at auction.
In November 28, 1985, Larry, her husband of 46 years went home to be with the Lord. Through all of this, her faith and trust in the Lord never failed. Her children, other family members and church friends rallied around her, and she was so comforted by this.
In the spring of 1986, she was introduced to Bob Bennett, who would later become her second husband. They enjoyed hiking, bird watching, and gardening activities together, as well as taking a couple of cruises. They were also very active in the Sunny Hills Garden Club. The club maintained a large garden plot at Oral Hull Park for the Deaf and Blind, located north of Sandy. Bob even made all of the park benches, as he was an avid woodworker. Tragically, after 20 years of marriage, Bob was called home to be with the Lord. At his memorial service, it was mentioned that most of us are only lucky enough to find 1 person who loves us enough to marry us; Arabel had found two!
February 15, 2005 brought heartache once again. Arabel’s oldest daughter, Sheryl, went home to be with the Lord after a long illness. The death of a child is so out of the normal order of things. It is like no other heartache any one can experience. But God has been good and she leaned on Him and trusted that His ways were best.
Arabel was always the caregiver, serving the Lord by caring for others. Most recently, she cared for her very dear friend, Dorothy Naas, going to her home every Saturday to fix her hair so it would look pretty for church. After driving her to church every Sunday, the ladies would enjoy lunch together at a local restaurant. Her shoulders seemed so broad for such a small lady! Word has it that she and Dorothy were in a race to see who got to Heaven first!!
Arabel never met a person she didn’t love. And everybody loved her. She was always so kind, gentle, loving, and gracious. She had such poise and such a sweet spirit. What a wonderful, thoughtful kind friend she was, so inspirational and such a blessing to all who knew her. Some day she will find out just how many lives she touched.
She loved church, reading her Bible every morning along with her Daily Bread devotional, and serving the Lord any way she could, whether it was baking cookies for a reception, straightening the hymnals in the pew bench, teaching Sunday school or hosting the Bible Bells of Boring bible study in her home. She was ALWAYS thinking of others, even up to the end of her days. The day before she entered Heaven’s gates, she was telling her daughters that she was so sorry to be leaving her family and putting them through this pain and sorrow. She always put others above herself.
Larry and Arabel have left behind the most wonderful heritage of all. Their 3 surviving children and their spouses all love and serve the Lord, as do nearly all of their grandchildren and great-grands. And this legacy will live on in to eternity!! Praise God!!
Arabel is survived by her son Gale & daughter-in-law Sharon Meier of Boring, and daughter Rosemarie & son-in-law Steve Hill of Bothell, WA and daughter Laura & son-in-law Dave Morgan of Sandy. She was most proud of her 14 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild.
She was preceded in death by her first husband Lawrence (Larry) Meier, her second husband Robert (Bob) Bennett, her daughters Sheryl Meier and Marijane Meier, and grandson, Joshua Morgan.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. NIV