Arlene R. Sparks

Arlene R. Sparks, 89, of Bradenton, Florida, formerly of Coal Valley, Illinois, died Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Sarasota, Florida.

Services are 11:00 a.m. Friday, June 28, at Trimble Funeral Home, Coal Valley. Visitation is one hour prior to services. Burial is in Coal Valley Cemetery. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The former Arlene Ruth Krouse was born June 10, 1935, in Melcher, Iowa, the daughter of Arie and Alice (Geddling) Krouse. She married the love of her life, Russell Edward Sparks, on October 20, 1953, in Milan, Illinois. He died May 4, 2023.

She worked for John Deere Plow & Planter prior to starting a family. Later on, she went back to school to earn her beautician’s license and subsequently owned and operated her own beauty salon in Coal Valley. She also drove a school bus for some time and worked at the liquor store in Coal Valley.

She enjoyed golfing, and was a member of Tara Golf and Country Club in Bradenton. She was also a homemaker deluxe, excelling at cooking and sewing, and was an excellent wife and mother. In her younger years, she was a den mother for her sons’ Cub Scouts groups. 

Arlene is survived by two children, Ronald (Monica) Sparks of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Vicki LaRosa of Middletown, New York; four grandchildren, Eric Sparks of Bettendorf, Toby LaRosa of Connecticut, Ariel (Christian) Dunnigan of New York, and Emma LaRosa of New York; and two great-grandchildren, Kinsley and Owen. She was preceded in death by her husband, Russell; her son, Gary L. Sparks; and three siblings, Marvin and Wayne Krouse, and Maxine DeMoulin.

The family invites friends to share stories and condolences at TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.