Arlene Rose Muller Mock was born on November 27, 1944, in Abington, Pennsylvania, to Oskar Muller and Elizabeth Reigelmayer Muller.

Arlene’s father immigrated to this country from Germany in the late 1920s. Arlene’s mother was born in Pennsylvania and returned to the U.S. from Austria-Hungary at the age of 16 alone with two female cousins of the same age in order to maintain her American citizenship. Her parents met when both were employed by the Prince family in Philadelphia. Arlene was proud of her German and Austrian-Hungarian heritage and how hard her parents worked to be good American citizens. She spent countless hours researching her family’s ancestry and collecting documents and photographs to support her research.

When Arlene was eight years old, she moved with her parents to Whittier, California, where Arlene’s older sister, Helen, was already living. During her time living in southern California, she made many friends at school and at various beaches. She even knew how to surf. One of her favorite stories was how she met The Beach Boys before they became super famous. She graduated from California High School (Cal High) 1962.

It was in southern California that she met John Mock when they were both at Skateland with friends. She asked him to skate with her because she was impressed with how he “danced on roller skates.” John and Arlene were married at the Rio Dell Pentecostal Church of God in Rio Dell, California, on April 4, 1964. Except for a short time living in southern California after their first child was born, Arlene and John have lived in Humboldt County for all 61 years of their marriage.

Arlene is known by many in the Eel River Valley for her time working at a variety of jobs. Upon first moving to the area, she worked as a beautician in a variety of local beauty salons. She was also known for making wedding cakes, working as a teacher’s aide for Alice Thrap at Rio Dell Elementary School, working for Herb Colby at Hoby’s, working as a cashier and bookkeeper at Coast-to-Coast in Scotia before the 1992 earthquake and fire, working at Sprouse Reitz in Fortuna in the fabric department, and finishing her working career as a fiscal assistant for Humboldt County’s Department of Public Health.

When Arlene and John attended Rio Dell Pentecostal Church of God, she was involved in both their youth program and their women’s organization. When she and John and their children began attending Rio Dell Baptist Church, she became volunteered with their women’s missionary organization.

All of this though, does not tell you what an amazing woman or Mom or Grammy Arlene was. She always put others ahead of herself. She always made sure we had a warm bed and plenty of food. Being involved in the school and sports activities for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren was one of her greatest joys. Family was everything to her. She sewed many of our clothes when we were growing up and continued the tradition for as long as she was able, making clothes for her granddaughters. There were countless Easter’s where she stayed up late sewing a dress to match the one she had sewn her daughters and matching shirts for her son and husband. There were many Christmas Eves she didn’t go to bed at all because she was busy finishing making Christmas gifts by hand and then wrapping everything. Her family and their happiness was extremely important to her.

Some of Arlene‘s favorite activities were eating Chinese food, and when her sisters-in-law were all alive, they liked to meet at Shanghai Low in Eureka for lunch. She also loved going to JoAnn Fabrics and buying fabric to make aprons (some of which she actually finished). Other favorite activities were reading and camping with her family when the kids were all younger.

Arlene recently spent a week in Medford, Oregon with her son and daughter-in-law and some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. It was one of her favorite vacations away from the rest of us crazies. While she was there she received medical treatment from Dr. Williams at Providence Sports Medicine. Dr. Williams went above and beyond to try to find out what was going on with Arlene’s health. Shortly after that trip, Arlene entered St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka and was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer. Arlene chose not to fight a battle that was not meant for her to win and chose to go peacefully to meet her Savior and loved ones waiting for her in Heaven. She was at peace and assured of her eternity. One of Arlene‘s last requests was to let everyone know that she appreciated the care she had received in Medford from Dr. Williams. She also wanted it known that the level of care she received at St. Joe’s was excellent. From her ER nurses and doctors to the Palliative Care team to the nursing staff in both the PNU wing and the MedSurg wing, Arlene‘s needs were top priority. Their kindness and level of knowledge and expertise cannot be praised enough. The family would also like to thank everyone that was able to call or visit Arlene, especially her former coworkers from Humboldt County’s Department of Public Health. We would also like to thank the countless friends and family, who prayed for Arlene and her transition to her heavenly home. Arlene died with her daughter, Cindi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, by her bedside at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

Arlene was preceded in death by her parents Oskar & Elizabeth Reigelmayer Muller; her in-laws Henry & Leola DeWitt Mock; her sister & brother-in-law Helen Muller Radde & Ron Radde; her brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Edward & Margaret Mock Hall, Melvin & Mary Ann Mock Calkins, Pete & Jeannette Mock Bulaga, Henrietta Mock, and Bill Diffin; son-in-law Ken Rose; nieces Cathy Jones Olsen and Tina Bulaga Richardson; and nephews Billy Diffin and Warren Richardson.

Arlene is survived by her husband, John Mock; daughters Cindi Mock Rose and Ammi Mock (Mark Grimes), and son and daughter-in-law, Aaron and Ruth Mock; grandchildren Molly Buck (Felix Cisneros), Callie Buck, Levi Buck, Tory & Jen Mock, Victor & Violet Mock Fernandez, Tanner & Ileana Mock, Ethan Mock, Haley & G Jakabosky, Emma & Nick Houston; great-grandchildren Natalia & Lily (Molly), Emerson (Tory), Atticus & Aspen (Tanner), Lily (Emma), Gabriel (Haley). She is also survived by her sister-in-law Clara Mock Diffin; Lonnie Buck, the father of Cindi’s children, and Heather Finley Bennett, the mother of Aaron’s children; numerous nieces and nephews, her special friend, Joy Blake; and her dog, Trixie.

Arrangements are under the care of Ayres Family Cremation. A Celebration of Arlene’s life will take place on Thursday, May 15, at 4 p.m. at Fortuna Church of the Nazarene, 1355 Ross Hill Rd., Fortuna. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your local 4H or Future Farmers of America chapter.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Arlene Mock’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.