Arra Fleming

Arra Ruth Steuber-Fleming, age 93 years, of Prairie du Sac and formerly of Elroy, Wisconsin, passed away on Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

She was born on January 19, 1917, to Alex and Alma (Albers) Steuber in the Town of Sumpter, near Prairie du Sac.  While Arra grew up on a farm in Sumpter, and always held the Prairie du Sac area near and dear to her heart, she lived most of her life in Elroy, where she and her husband Kenneth were owners of the Midway IGA Grocery Store and operated a small beef farm just outside the city limits.

Arra graduated from Prairie du Sac High School in 1935.  Following graduation, she operated a beauty salon in downtown Prairie du Sac, then married Ken in 1940 at the Sumpter Methodist Church.  They lived 8 years in Portage, where her husband managed a Kroger’s grocery store.  In 1948 they moved to Elroy, and for the next 26 years were proprietors of the grocery store on Main Street.  In the early 1970’s she served a number of years as an enumerator with the Department of Agriculture, a job she thoroughly enjoyed as it called upon both her knowledge of farm life, as well as her jovial and outgoing personality.

Those who knew Arra would surely describe her as a person who was friendly and sociable – and certainly had spunk!  She brought a smile to many a face with her quick wit and wry sense of humor.  She was a devoted mother and a member of the Elroy United Methodist Church.  She spent her final years in Prairie du Sac, cared for by her son, Steve.

A major accomplishment and sense of personal pride for Arra in recent years was the preservation of one of Prairie du Sac’s oldest residences (circa 1851).  Arra was instrumental in saving the historic house from demolition by organizing the moving of the structure and donating the land for its relocation.

She is survived by two sons, Steve of Prairie du Sac and Mark (Grace) of Appleton; two grandsons, Paul of Milwaukee and Kurt of Oshkosh; a granddaughter, Lindsay of Lexington, South Carolina; and one Great Grand Child.  She was preceded in death by her husband Ken on April 25, 1999.