Arleen Regina Polite Obituary (1962 - 2020)

Services are pending PLEASE BE ADVISED Under all circumstances, face masks or face coverings are required and mandatory to enter King-Tears Mortuary, Inc. Your temperature will be taken upon entering King-Tears Mortuary. All funeral homes are required to follow the CDC guidelines and mandated ruling of no more than 10 people at a time at the visitation and/or service. For more information regarding these guidelines, please read information posted here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/funeral-guidance.html THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND UNDERSTANDING January 17, 1962 * July 24, 2020 Arleen was amazing from the start. Born in Palatka, Fla. as the third child of Queen Ester Evins Polite and Hallbrook Polite, Sr., Arleen was reading and drawing by the time she was 4 years old. Her first rendering was a perfect image of a fish. Hallbrook Sr. was an avid fisherman, so it was fitting that a bream was her first drawing. During her elementary years, Arleen continued to hone her craft as an artist. She presented her first art show at age 10. By the time she was in high school, her art skills rivaled that of many trained adult artists in north Florida. In high school she also was a cross country runner and a member of Future Farmers of America. Arleen had the greenest of "green thumbs", which she inherited from years working in her family's backyard garden. She graduated from Palatka High School in 1980. Purpose After high school, Arleen attended St. John Community College. She thought she would become a veterinarian because from an early age, she had owned many different species of animals. But as fate would have it, she attended a party with art majors, and she discovered she had found her "tribe" and calling. She entered the college's Florida School of the Arts. Arleen started by painting watercolors and acrylics, but moved into creating pottery. She sculpted many pieces that were sold at art shows throughout Florida. After finishing her two-year course of study at the Florida School of the Arts, Arleen moved to Atlanta and earned a B.F.A in 1984 from the Atlanta College of Art (now the Savannah College of Art and Design). She discovered block printing there. She liked this ancient Chinese art technique because few Western artists had perfected it. After college, Arleen lived briefly in Orlando. She was trying to find a home for her unique personality and eclectic brand of art. A few years later, she moved to Austin, Texas. She had found her new home! Arleen and her art became hallmarks of the Austin art community. Among artists in Austin, Arleen was an iconoclast. Her work was exhibited at numerous galleries throughout Texas including the Austin Museum of Art, Flatbed Press and La Pefia in Austin; the Dallas Visual Art Center and the San Marcos Fine Arts Center. Arleen was also a home health nurse. She earned her LPN from First Coast Technical College in St. Augustine College in 2009. She cared for her patients with the same attention to detail, love and passion that she put into her art. Arleen particularly loved working with the Wiedeman family. She was treated like the "third Wiedeman daughter" as she provided home healthcare for their daughter Harper. Resilience At the St. James Episcopal Church in Austin, Arleen found solitude, love and family. She was the church's resident artist, creating beautiful and moving images for its "Station of the Cross" display. Arleen also used her extensive horticultural talents as a member of "Brush Busters", the group that maintained the rose bushes and shrubs at St. James. Though only 5 feet tall, Arleen was ferocious! She obtained her belt in Kyokushin Karate in 1995 at Sun Dragon Martial Arts and Self Defense, NFP. She was their first black belt ever! After taking a break from her practice while living in Florida for 8 years, she returned to Sun Dragon in 2015. When she learned that they had changed to Seido Karate, Arleen decided to start working on her second black belt in this new form. She had made it to the advanced green belt level. Amazing Arleen's entire life was spent in service. From 1989- 1990 she was a Peace Corps volunteer, stationed in the Philippines. When civil unrest broke out under President Ferdinand Marcos in June 1990, the U.S. government received intelligent reports that Peace Corps volunteers were going to be targeted by Communist insurgents. After weeks of chaos, Peace Corp volunteers scattered. Arleen found refuge in the mountains with the Negrito people of the Philippines. When she miraculously received word of the Peace Corps evacuation, Arleen was shuttled to the departing plane by motorcycle. A world traveler, she also visited Thailand and Auschwitz. Family Arleen was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents Susie and Willard B. Evins of Citra, Florida, and her parental grandparents Josephine Frazier-Polite and Charlie Polite, Palatka, Florida. Arleen also lost two siblings Herbert L. Polite, Sr. (Janet) of Hollister, FL, and Lillian R. Polite-Haynes of Palatka. She is survived by her mother, Queen Ester Evins-Polite; and brothers, Stanley Polite and Hallbrook Polite,Jr. (Linda); Sisters Rosseta Robinson, Belinda Jackson and Burnetta Polite. In the last year of her life, she began to form a special bond with her niece, Kara. They talked about their cats and martial arts. Arleen is also mourned by her aunts, uncles, cousins, and many friends. Additionally, she touched the lives of many people through art, martial arts and nursing, leaving a huge crater in the hearts of untold thousands. Arleen squeezed two lifetimes into 58 years! A memorial service is planned for late fall in Palatka. King-Tears Mortuary in Austin, Texas, assisted the family. In her words: "You can insist on having a life worth waking up to!" Matthew 25:21 - "Well done, good and faithful servant!"