Arline Florida Lish, our beloved mother passed away on Saturday, July 17, 2021 in Dickinson, ND. A private service will be held by the immediate family at a later date.
Arline was born May 14, 1926 in Lewiston, Maine to Antoinette Anctil and Arthur Huff who died when she was a baby. She came to North Dakota after she married Frank Lish on March 2, 1946 and asked “where are all the trees?”. She worked as a waitress at the Elks Club sometimes butchering the chickens in the back alley. Later she worked as a store clerk at Greene Drug, all while raising a family of six children. Her life was her family and she made sure her children enjoyed their childhood. She loved jigsaw puzzles and card games and made every holiday special.
In 1980, a few years after the death of her husband, she moved to Houston, Texas where she finally got her drivers license and learned to navigate in the big city. There she tended a beautiful yard full of flowers, made wonderful new friends, and enjoyed frequent trips back to North Dakota. After 41 years in Texas we brought her back to North Dakota and she peacefully left us with the many wonderful memories, to join her first husband, Frank; second husband, Sheldon Spidell; parents; sisters, Dorothy and Christine; brother, Arthur Huff Jr.; and great-grandson, Lane Schatz.
She leaves behind her children: Toni (Richard) Leger, Thornton, CO; Michele Lish, Portland, OR; Donna Torstenson, Fresno, TX; Muggsy (Dale) Schatz, New England; Pete Lish, Moscow, ID; and Birdi (Ben) Privratsky, Dickinson; step-children, Shelly (Bryan) Osborne, Stephen Spidell and Leslie Spidell, all of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She will be dearly missed by her 11 grandchildren, Mary Bradley, Susan Eichhorn, Michele (Zac) Chudnofsky, Daniel Torstenson, Tim (Beth) Williams, Tate (Jill) Schatz, Tiffany (Boyd) Meduna, Christina (Christian) Venturini, Emily (Brenton) DeHoff, Sarah (CJ) Haich, and Jeffrey Privratsky; step-grandchild, Daniel Osborne and 18 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters, Lillian Picard and Mary Casson of Maine. She will forever remain in the hearts of her special friends Connie Martinez and Lupe Talamantez both of Missouri City, Texas.
