Arbie Zupp

Arbie Zupp, age 89, passed away on December 18, 2025 at the Methodist Manor in Storm Lake, ten days after her husband passed. Graveside services will take place Wednesday, June 3, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at Oakhill Cemetery in Cherokee. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements. She was born August 9, 1936, at the hospital in Cherokee, Iowa, a daughter of the late Clifford & Lue Alice (Johnson) Zupp. She was one of 12 siblings. Arbie and her two younger brothers lived with her sister, Blanch, after the death of her mother on August 8, 1950. There she helped her sister with house work, milking the cow and whatever else needed done to maintain the household. She was famous for her chocolate cake that she made so often she didn’t need the recipe. She met Ralph Merideth Jr. in 1954. They were married on June 3, 1955 in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints church on Clark Street in Cherokee, Iowa. They were Zions League Leaders for a few years and loved teaching and being with the teenagers. Arbie worked in a bank in Alta after their marriage. In 1958 they were blessed with their first child, a daughter, and in 1960 their second daughter. They bought a home and settled in Calumet, Iowa. Arbie was privileged to be able to stay home and raise their two daughters while Ralph worked on the road operating heavy equipment, building bridges. Arbie made sure that after the girls came home from school there were always cookies, brownies or some sort of snack for them and instead of homework, they were allowed to go outside to play. She had a special whistle she did when it was time to come home. I think the whole town could hear her whistle. If the girls didn’t hear it, one of their friends would say, “Your mom whistled” and they would hurry home. She sewed a lot of their clothes and would throw the best birthday parties any girl could want. When the girls were older, Arbie worked the graveyard shift as Security Guard for 11 years at Wilson Foods in Cherokee, Iowa. During those 11 years, she kept herself busy and still had time to tend to her daughter's needs and work in their big, beautiful garden with her husband, Ralph. It was always said, “If it fit in a jar, it was canned.” Anything from fruits, to meats, fish, making her own sauces and stews and canning them in pint and quart jars. She was a wonderful mother to her two girls. She loved riding with Ralph on the back of their Harley Davidson Panhead. They rode many miles visiting relatives in different states. Ralph would tell the girls that mom would lean up to his ear and say, “give em the pipes, dad, give em the pipes”, and of course he always honored her wishes. When they retired, they decided to move to Missouri to be with their oldest daughter and her family. They moved back and forth from Iowa to Missouri making sure to spend time with both daughters and their families. They settled back in Iowa in the Fall of 2024 where she and her husband resided at the Methodist Manor for 14 months until their death in December of 2025, just ten days apart. Arbie would often tell her daughters that she prayed often that the Lord would allow her to live long enough to continue to take care of her husband. After 70 years of marriage, how could she think differently. The Lord blessed her with those prayers as he allowed her to live ten days after his death on December 8th, 2025. Arbie is preceded in death by her father, Clifford and her mother, Lue Alice and 11 sisters and brothers, Leona, Beulah, Blanche, Fern, Clifford, Neal, Beverly, Bobby, Douglas, Dickey, and Dannie. She is survived by her two daughters, Janelle (Dale) Jensen and Toni (Charles) Gilmore, five grandchildren, Aaron (Jennifer) Jensen, and Angela (Jacob) DeWitt, Travis Cox, Bre Gilmore, Adam (Tasha) Cox and 19 great grandchildren, Logan, Emelyn, Lydia, Titus, Annabelle, Rebecca, Ethan, Clara, Lily, Kylie, Damon, HayLee, Millie, Harper, Addie, Aubrey, Kinzley, Reghan, Dax.

Arbie Zupp

August 9, 1936 - December 18, 2025