Obituary of Arleen Rockershousen

November 11, 1938 – November 6, 2023

Arleen Rockershousen.  Age 84 of Wyandotte.   

Dearest wife of William, loving mother of Robert, Richard (Lee Anne) and Randall (Mya), proud grandmother of Kyle (Carrie), Rachel, Nathan (Katya) and Gelsey, joyful great grandmother of Molly and Emma and aunt and great aunt to numerous nieces and nephews. Arleen was an accomplished pianist, organist and vocalist; she earned both her bachelors and masters degrees in Music and Music Education from the University of Michigan. After accompanying her husband to military deployments in Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and North Carolina, she returned to Wyandotte and began teaching in Wyandotte schools in 1967. She taught in Wyandotte her entire career, retiring in 1997. A 1956 Roosevelt High School graduate, she spent the majority of her career at her alma mater, directing the Chorus, the A capella choir, RoVaSi Chorale, ultimately as music department chair. She created and taught a unique class in music listening and appreciation that drew upon a multitude of genres and styles, analyzing lyrics and musical structure that proved to be both popular and inspirational to students. She was active with Downriver BPW for several decades. After retirement, she served as the scholarship chair for the Jay Stuart scholarship fund for many years, which continues to help aspiring K-12 Wyandotte music students today.

Like her mother Lena before her, she was a lifelong member of St John’s United Church of Christ Wyandotte, she served as the church choir director and the music ministry for over 50 years.  

An avid Tiger fan since 1945, she also coached a Wyandotte girls softball team for several years. She closely followed Michigan Football through losing seasons in her undergraduate days to great success the following decades. More recently she could be heard on WXYT Sports Talk providing memories of the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s era Tigers and Wolverines from her college days as well as opining on what the Tigers and Wolverines need to improve now. 

Arleen loved to travel, first with family on car trips across the country, then with her husband on Nomad trips and for decades enjoyed Friday night dinners at Sibley Gardens with family and friends. Ultimately the true constant in her life was that she loved being home in Wyandotte with her friends, family and community. 

Memorial contributions are appreciated to St. John United Church of Christ.