Arline E. Jirsak

Arline E. Jirsak

July 18, 1926-June 1, 2025

Preceded in death by her husband, James.

VISITATION: Sunday, June 8, 2025, 2:00 PM with a VIGIL SERVICE at 3:00 PM, West Center Chapel, 7805 West Center Road, Omaha.

FUNERAL SERVICE:  Monday, June 9, 2025, 10:30 AM, at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, 15353 Pacific Street, Omaha.

Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler, West Center Chapel, 7805 West Center Road, Omaha, Ne 68124. (402)-391-3900. www.heafeyheafey.com

Arline Jirsak’s Story

I grew up on a small farm in Howells, Nebraska, where I attended a country school for eight years. I graduated with one other person, (there were only two of us in my grade). School was three-fourths of a mile south of town and we walked, even in the snow!

One of my favorite toys was a Shirley Temple doll. My memories of my childhood started with farm chores which included: harvesting potatoes, driving the horses for the hay stocking machine; carrying lunches to the fields where Dad was doing some plowing, planting or cultivating crops; walking after cows to chase them home for milking time; gathering wood in baskets by the creek; and herding cattle in the road ditches during the dry years of the Depression.

After chores, I enjoyed playing baseball in the alfalfa fields with my siblings or going to town for a movie. I liked playing ‘Pretending Being a Mother’ – making mud pies, drying them, and pretending to eat them. We would also make a playhouse out of an unused chicken coop.

I always wanted to go with the folks to town and leave the boys at home! If we went to Schuyler for better shopping, I took my few cents allowance to buy Kissy candy from the dime store. I’d have to hide it at home and then ration it to last longer. Mom would stop at the grocery store and buy some bologna and cinnamon rolls for our lunch or dinner, and we’d eat them on our way home.

I’d love to look for a new dress, even if mom and dad couldn’t afford it! Sometimes mom would give in and buy me one! She made me a lot of dresses and coats from her old clothes. I’d wear shoes till they hardly held together. For the many holes in the soles or toes, we would cover them up with cardboard to last a bit longer.

After high school graduation, I decided to take a job so I could meet new people. I came to Omaha and went to a community college for secretarial work. During that time, I worked for BQ Hanes, Takechi Jewelry, and was a nanny for a wonderful Irish family. (P.S.—that is how Colleen got her name!)

During World War II, I wrote to several men in the service. This is how I met my husband, Jim Jirsak. We had four children: a boy (Gary) and three girls (Colleen, Raejean, Janet). Gary was diagnosed with polio at an early age and overcame the disease only to die from a car accident at the age of twenty-four. Our girls all grew up, got married and had children of their own, giving me nine grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren.

I worked at Lutheran Hospital in the Dietary Department, initially to pay for my girls’ braces. I retired from Lutheran Hospital several years later and started a hobby of collecting bells, playing bingo, and traveling. I enjoy watching baseball, football, Wheel of Fortune, Judge Judy, and musicals.

When I was younger, my dream was to stay healthy and to live a long prosperous life. If I had three wishes, they would be to have love/laughter, good health, and world peace.