Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

January 14, 2024

CHARLOTTE – Arlene Ann Roman passed away on Sunday, January 14, 2024.  She was born February 20, 1954, the youngest of four, in Essex County, NJ.  Her parents were Albert and Mildred Roman.  All of her grandparents were born in Poland, making Arlene third generation Polish.  She grew up in Irvington, NJ, where her father Albert died when she was eight years old.

Arlene was the first in her family to graduate from college. She attended Oswego College, now defunct, earning a degree in Biology. Then she worked as a chemist to ensure water quality for the North Carolina municipalities of Chapel Hill, Charlotte, and Gastonia.  While working, she co-created the first credentialing system for lab analysts in NC. It still runs to this day.

Raised Catholic, Arlene was a life-long atheist. She had no children.

Arlene met her future-husband Blair DeWitt Peery at a medieval feast complete with appropriate costumes, which set the tone for their creative life.  They were wedded on October 12, 1985, in Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC. They were married for thirty-eight wonderful years.

Arlene loved art as well as science. Her amateur paintings are hung around Maple Shade, the home she shared with Blair.  She enjoyed crafts such as weaving and pottery, among others. With her husband, she made many trips to the Schiele Museum to practice stone-age skills.  The classes erected megalithic monuments, learned to start fires, and shaped flint into tools.

Arlene treasured the outdoors: hiking, Christmas tree hunting in the NC mountains, orienteering, gardening, walking, and biking.  She was a member of TreesCharlotte, where she was designated a TreeMaster.  Arlene volunteered at their “tree store”, where they gave away free trees to all comers.  She supported Charlotte Parks and Rec by going on trash pickups with Blair.

Her first love, however, was definitely traveling.  The two have a wall of photos from all around the world, including Brazil, UK, Italy, Germany, Iceland, India, Malta, Bali, Egypt, Australia, and New Zealand.  Recently, she had started hinting about Antarctica.  Their most recent trip, to Istanbul, was only a few months before she died.

Arlene kept long-term friendships with a group of women who styled themselves the Ladies’ Full Moon Gathering.  Besides Arlene, they were Donna Baker, Kathy Phillips, Robin Willis, Julianna Hamilton, and sometimes Sylvia Nassar-McMillan.

Arlene enjoyed volleyball, yoga, and tai chi.  She regularly exercised to keep fit.

Arlene survived cancer in 2010, which turned her long, straight hair into short, curly hair.  She looked great either way.  Cancer recurred in late 2023, and she died of complications brought on by chemotherapy on January 14, 2024 at the young age of sixty-nine years.

She is survived by her loving husband, Blair; her siblings, Ron Roman and his wife, Linda and Joan Moran and her husband, Ed; her nephews, Johnny Roman, and Michael Roman and his wife, Kelly; her nieces, Chrissie Fusare and her husband, Mike, Kimberly Ferguson, Diana McLaughlin, and Eileen Pedante-Stone and her husband, Rob; and numerous other relations.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at Myers Park Presbyterian Church, 2501 Oxford Place, Charlotte, NC.  The family will receive friends following the service in Oxford Hall.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be offered in memory of Arlene to TreesCharlotte, 701 Tuckaseegee Road, Charlotte, NC 28208. ( treescharlotte.org/make-a-donation )

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.