Arlene (Hofer) Mason, died at the age of 73 on March 2, 2020, in Brush, Colorado.  Arlene, also known to close friends as Arnie, was born and raised in the farming community near Huron, South Dakota.  The farm life taught her many skills that she was well-known for throughout her life, like home repair, sewing, and gardening.  She attended school in a one-room schoolhouse for four years and then completed her high school education in Willow Lake, South Dakota.  Afterward she went to a Business College in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and continued to live in that area for several years, where she met her first husband, Noble (Ray) Troxell, and married in 1973.

That union produced their first child, Tara (Troxell) Harkner.  Six weeks later, the new family of three moved to Brush so Ray could start a new employment venture with the US Department of Energy in 1977.  A second child, Grant Troxell, was born a couple years later.

Arlene made her home in Brush area for 43 years.  During her first years as a resident, she was a stay at home mom who led Story Time at the East Morgan County Library, occasionally helped out at Sunday school at the Immanuel Congregational Church, and spent her free time sewing and crafting, making wonderful stuffed farm animals, paintings and homemade dolls that she sold at craft fairs.  She later divorced and met her second husband, Clif Mason and married in 1987.  Arlene and Clif purchased a bar downtown named the Country Pump.  You could get a cold beer, a hamburger and chili made by Arlene and enjoy live bands and dancing on the weekends.  She ran that business for a couple years while continuing to raise her family.

Arlene and Cliff soon learned that they both had a knack for fixing up old homes.  They purchased/restored/sold several homes in the Brush area and their handiwork can still be seen on several of those homes today.  In the mid-90's, Arlene and Clif found an opportunity to start building homes from the ground up in the Brush /Fort Morgan area and even as far away as Greeley.  Arlene's knack for home improvement was not wasted on her own home.  She remodeled her home several times over the years, tearing out walls, creating bathrooms and building extensions and garages.  Where most people would have to hire these items done, Arlene could do most of them all on her own.  She also shared her talents freely with her friends and neighbors without taking payment in return.

Arlene was also known for her huge heart when it came to animals.  She never found an animal that was a lost cause.  She rescued and cared for everything from dogs to cats, rabbits, birds and even farm animals.  She volunteered at the Humane Society during her retirement years and was known to give a home to the animals who would normally have been euthanized due to their age, temperament or medical needs.  She allowed them to spend their final weeks / months in a caring home until it was time for them to cross over to the next life.

Her final years were spent with close friends, making holidays special for her children and grandchildren and inviting her grandchildren to spend extended periods of time over the summer so that they might enjoy the "small town childhood" their parents received, even though they have always lived in big cities.

Arlene was preceded in death by her parents, Ruben and Winnie Hofer.  She leaves behind her two children Tara (Neal) Harkner of Aurora, CO and Grant Troxell of Fort Collins; three grandchildren,  Logan, Adrienne, and Lanie Harkner; as well as sisters, Peggy Fox and Charlotte Hofer both of Fort Collins, and her brother, Tom Hofer of Hot Springs, SD.

Arlene requested no funeral / memorial services, but her family would love to read any memories you may have of her.  She will be entombed in the Brush Memorial Cemetery.  Though there are no "official" services, her family welcomes you to join them and share your memories of Arlene at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at Brush Memorial Cemetery.  The family also suggests memorial contributions be made in her name to the Humane Society in lieu of gifts of flowers.  Please send memorial gifts to the Heer Mortuary in Arlene's Memory.