Obituary of Arlene Dorn Trowbridge

Arlene Dorn Trowbridge went to be with her Lord on Saturday morning, January 12, 2013, at the age of 93, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was born in Oakland California on March 29, 1919 to Ralph and Clara Ryan. She was the great granddaughter of Irish immigrants who married in St. Michaels Cathedral in the 1840's in Limerick, Ireland. Her father Ralph was an inventor and machine shop owner in Oakland California. Arlene attended Asbury College in Wilmore Kentucky for one year before marrying and raising a family. She returned to college and was graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1968. Except for short periods in New York State and in Chowchilla California, Arlene has lived in the Santa Cruz area since 1938. She has been a member of the High Street Community Church for many years. She was also one of three women who initiated the Habitat for Humanity program in Santa Cruz County. After receiving her teaching credential from San Jose State in 1969, Arlene taught at elementary schools in Watsonville. During her seven year sabbatical and while pursuing a master's degree in Mexico, Arlene was instrumental in beginning a program to enable children of migrant farm workers to maintain continuous schooling in the US and Mexico. This became known as the Bi-National Program which is in practice in Mexico and many states in the U.S. today. In recognition of her pioneering effort, Arlene received the highest award the Mexican Government can bestow on a foreigner in 1997. She has been featured in many newspaper articles and in a book entitled " Children De La Frontiera", Chapter 9. Arlene is survived by her three daughters, Mary Louise Young ( Wayne), Merilyn Smith ( Mike) , Joy Claire Kilner (Doug) and son, Robert Jay Dorn (Linda), nine grandchildren, and twenty two great grandchildren. She is predeceased by one of her sons, Meade Ralph Dorn, and by two of her husbands, the late Robert Henry Dorn, the father of her children, and the late Col. Frank H. Trowbridge. She is also survived by her loving companion of many recent years, Roy Trowbridge. Services will be held on Friday, January 18, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. at Santa Cruz Memorial Chapel, 1927 Ocean St. Ext. in Santa Cruz, burial to follow at Santa Cruz Memorial Park.