Arliene Berkley Matthews, 90, Tescott, passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 9, 2013 at her home. Arliene was born June 28, 1922, at Bunker Hill, Kansas, to H. J. "Jack" and Paulina Boller Berkley. She was the oldest of eight children.

In October 1924 the family moved to Tescott. Arliene graduated from Tescott Grade School in 1936 and from Tescott High in 1940. She attended Salt City Business College in Hutchinson, Kansas. She received a civil service appointment to work in Washington, D.C. and went there in October 1941 and was assigned to the Office of Chief of Ordnance, War Department on 4 November 1941. She was working there on December 7, 1941 and on the 8th of December she walked to the Capitol and watched President Roosevelt being driven to the Capitol to ask Congress to declare war on Japan. Her Department was transferred to the Pentagon when two floors of the Pentagon were completed.

After about a year, she resigned and went to Kansas City and worked at the Inter-State National Bank. In June 1943 on her 21st birthday she enlisted in the Women Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC). She was called to active duty in October 1943 and was sworn in to the WAC (Women Army Corps. She took her basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. After basic she was sent to WAC Detachment SCSU #1104, Harbor Defenses of Portland, Fort Williams, Maine. In September 1944 she was transferred to Headquarters Company, 2525th Service Unit, South Post, Fort Myer, Virginia and worked for the Logistics Operations Section, War Department General Staff, in the Pentagon. She was discharged at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, having served two years and three months.

She worked many years as a teller at The Bank of Tescott and was a Director of the Bank from 1978 until her retirement at the end of 2011.

She married Lyle Matthews of Tescott in October 1948. He preceded her in death on July 24, 1978. They were the parents of five children. The surviving children are Dr. Earl Matthews, Salina; Paula (John) Nelson, Tescott; Jayne (Rick) Hunt, Manhattan; Burke Matthews, Salina; Mary Beth (Wesley) Phelps, Tescott. She is survived by 12 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren and one step great grandchild. She is survived by brothers, Paul (JoAnn) Berkley, Salina; Hal J. (Eleanor) Berkley, Tescott; Don (Pat) Berkley, Abilene; Kent (Debbie) Berkley, Salina; and two sisters-in-law, Lila Berkley, Salina; and Eleanor A. Berkley, Downs. She was also preceded in death by her parents and three brothers, Jack B., Robert B., and Jerry J.

Arliene was a member of the Tescott Methodist Church, Lincoln County Historical Society, Smoky Valley Genealogical Society, Tescott Museum and Historical Society, American Legion Post #255 and American Legion Auxiliary, AMVETS, Charter member of the Women in Military Service for America, Mary Wade Strother Chapter of the DAR, Rolling Hills Wildlife and Museum.

A celebration of Arliene's life will be at 11:00 A.M., Wednesday, February 13, at the Tescott United Methodist Church. Burial will be in Franklin Cemetery, Tescott. Visitation will be from 2:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. Tuesday at the Wilson Family Funeral Home, Minneapolis, where the family will receive friends from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Tescott United Methodist Church, Rolling Hills Wildlife and Museum, or the donor's choice.