Arlene Kusmin, 86, died May 29^th in the comfort of her home surrounded by family. Arlene courageously and graciously lived with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis for the last 8 years but a recent stroke was too much for her to overcome. Arlene is survived by her husband and soulmate of 66 years, Stanley; their children; Bruce (Carolyn), Lisa, Michael (Beth); their grandchildren; Ryan (Tom), Caylin (Robert), Daniel (Shea); three great grandchildren and her nieces and nephews with whom she had very special relationships.

Arlene was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from City College of New York in 1958 with a degree in statistics.  Her professional life began as a statistician for Lerner’s of New York and after staying home to raise children, she reentered the workplace as an entrepreneur and owned her own retail store, The Bright Side, for 11 years.  Arlene spent the final 19 years of her career as a sales rep in the fashion industry working and traveling together with her husband.

But Arlene’s greatest joy was giving joy to others, both friends and family, but especially family.  Her unconditional and unwavering love, her willingness to help others, her empathy and her compassion will continue to be a source of strength and inspiration to us all.

Arlene was especially proud of the work she did with the St. Louis Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.  After being a caregiver to her father Aaron, Arlene worked tirelessly to “pay it forward”.  Not only did she volunteer in their office as a caseworker; Stanley and Arlene are recognized as two of the largest “private” fundraisers for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s for their efforts over the last 20 years.  Arlene’s dedication was recognized in 2014 when she was awarded the citywide St. Louis Volunteer of the Year and featured in Town & Style Magazine.

Graveside service Wednesday 1:00 PM at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery-White Road. Visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information. Please support Arlene’s dream of finding a cure for this horrible disease by donating to The “A” Team (Aaron & Arlene) here:

https://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2022/MO-GreaterMissouri?team_id=721658&pg=team&fr_id=15695

BERGER MEMORIAL SERVICE