by Janet Dovidio
news@thewoodstockindependent.com
SOAR@Dorr (Serving Older Active Adults) was created in 2021 to establish a center for actively…
October 9, 2026
Arlene Rose Bechtold, 97, Union, died Tuesday, July 16, 2013, at JourneyCare Hospice in Woodstock.
She was born March 26, 1916, in Woodstock to John and Rose (Schultz) Seagrist.
She was raised in Woodstock by her father and her stepmother, Minnie.
She was a very caring and giving mother. She loved music and playing organ. Her sense of humor and generosity will be remembered forever.
Survivors include a son, Thomas Bechtold; two daughters, Mary Ann Kendrick and Judy (Rick) Lamz; a stepdaughter, Shirley (Donald) Stanley; a brother, John (Barbara) Seagrist; two stepgranddaughters; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Emerich Bechtold, in 1998; her parents; two brothers, Howard Seagrist and Eldon Seagrist; and a sister, Lois Robertshaw.
Services were July 19. Interment was at Lakewood Memorial Cemetery, Elgin. Memorials can be sent to JourneyCare Foundation, 405 Lake Zurich Road, Barrington, IL 60010.
Arrangements were made by Madison Funeral Homes, Elgin.