August 3, 1947 to December 14, 2007
(Left to right are Lynn Anderson and Arlene Badura during happier times)
Arlene’s most obvious gifts were her brilliant mind and quick wit. She was a talented raconteur whose flair for drama and sense of humor made her a welcomed addition to any gathering. Her cooking skills and willingness to share the finished products ensured her first position on any guest list. She was the “idea woman” in our group. She could find the answer to any question, originate dog names and edit any writings Arlene loved trivia and word games and almost always emerged victorious.
Arlene chose “Balmarle” as her kennel name. Her first sheltie came from Lynn Anderson of Laurolyn Kennels. “Gypsy” (Laurolyn Gypsy Dancer) was her all time favorite sheltie. She garnered an AM/Can CDX for her and later added CD titles on other shelties, with the help of Pam Moore. She left the showing of two males, AM/Can Ch. Glenwood’s Shadow Boxing and Ch. Balmarle’s The Maestro, to handlers for their championship titles.
Although the number of shelties she bred and finished was modest, Arlene made an impact on the sheltie community. She joined our local sheltie club in 1980 and served as Treasurer and President. During her tenure as President, she co-chaired our club’s Silver Anniversary Specialty Show. She was editor of the ASSA Handbook for 1989-90-91. In 1993, the Detroit Sheltie Club held the first Regional Specialty Weekend to be sponsored by a local club. Arlene was co-chair and was responsible for the many innovative ideas that were displayed and shared that weekend. An informative booklet, “Considerations”, was produced for the event and contained “everything you wanted to read about shelties, but were afraid wouldn’t be written.” Once again Arlene’s flair for writing and creativity came to fore.
Arlene was editor of “The Sheltie Advantage”, a timely and affordable means to advertise. Another of Arlene’s sheltie concepts was a yearly desktop calendar. The Kennelog had gorgeous pictures of shelties, sent from around the country, displayed on the opposite page of the week’s planning pages. It also contained tabbed areas for Kennel Records. Individual dog information, Health information, Show Records, Litter Records, Expense Records, Mileage Records, Names, Numbers and Notes and Premium List. Very innovative.
Arlene taught speech and drama at Rosary High School. She later worked for GM at the Detroit Hamtramck (Cadillac) plant. After a buy out, she taught theater arts at Oakland Community College and was a substitute teacher for the Grosse Pointe School System. In 2002 she relocated to Pennsylvania where she taught speech at Kutztown University for four years, until her medical disability forced her to retire. She loved the rural beauty and charm of the Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Complications from congestive heart failure took her life in December. Arlene once penned, “We have memories so that we may have roses in December.” She is our December Rose.
Arlene leaves her mother, Verna, of Farmington Hills and a brother, Jim, of New Orleans and many friends whose lives were enriched by knowing her.
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