Arlene L. Landsness Brunsell (nee Jacobs)

Arlene L. Landsness Brunsell (nee Jacobs)

August 02, 1919 - July 31, 2025

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Obituary

MADISON - Arlene L. Landsness Brunsell (nee Jacobs), age 105 (two days shy of 106), died on July 31, 2025, in Madison, Wis., her home since 1939. She was born to John and Ida Jacobs on August 2, 1919, in Grant County, N.D.


Arlene, the oldest of three children, was only 3 when she witnessed the tragic death of her father from a ruptured appendix. The following six formative years of her life were hard and isolated on the Dakota prairie. When their home was destroyed by fire, the family moved to Boyceville, Wis., where they had extended family. While she developed cherished lifelong friendships during her Boyceville years, the impact of the Great Depression on the family was profound, contributing to her amazing resilience and shaping her life perspectives and values.


Despite frequent health issues, Arlene excelled in school, graduating at 16 as the class valedictorian. Giving the valedictorian speech for the whole community “was one of the happiest and proudest moments of my life.” Her unquenchable love of learning, curious mind, and active intellect would be true throughout her life. Arlene finished three years of college at Whitewater Teacher’s College. “I loved school, just loved it!” However, due to financial constraints, she was not able to complete her degree, something she always regretted. When she turned 100, one cousin stated, due to her incredible and detailed memory, “Who needs a computer, when you have Arlene?!”


Arlene moved to Madison in 1939 to work, later meeting Clarence Landsness at a dance. They married on September 12, 1940. She was now part of a large, close, social Norwegian family. Her life became dedicated to family, friends and her faith. In 1945, the news of her brother Earl’s death in World War II left her with a lifelong heartache of grieving his loss.


Arlene and Clarence built the Landsness Cabinet Shop on Madison’s east side and ran it for 30 years. “These were our active, busy, happy years.” Arlene was very involved with the school PTA, Trinity Lutheran Church (where she taught Sunday School for 36 years), Mother’s Club, Turner Hall, Eagles Club, hosting many family gatherings, and enjoyed camping with the family’s infamous converted school bus. She loved the Madison lakes, where she would frequently take the neighborhood kids swimming. She was in her 70s when she participated with her grandkids at Noah’s Ark Waterpark!


In 1959, Clarence, at age 44, lost his eyesight due to a hospital staph infection after a ruptured gallbladder and later died in 1975. In 1970, Arlene started studying with the Jehovah’s Witnesses and joined in 1976 where she formed cherished lifelong friendships, for which she was extremely grateful. In 1979, Arlene married William “Bill” Brunsell, also a widower and longtime family friend. They had eight years together, before his death.


Life circumstances put Arlene into the responsibilities of a caregiver role, starting at age 3 with siblings. Then later in life with sister (MS), 1st husband (blindness), mother and mother-in-law (strokes), 2nd husband (Alzheimer’s) and adult son (disabling depression). She selflessly cared for them with strength, determination, resourcefulness, never complaining. She lived her faith.


Arlene, with the loving and kind assistance of Independent Living’s Venessa (honorary family member and beloved friend until the end) was able to live self-sufficiently in her home until the age of 95, when she moved to Oak Park Assisted Living.


Arlene saw and experienced a lot in her 106 years. She learned how to use an iPad in her 90s so she could keep track of the outside world, used Facetime and email, and until her death was constantly wanting to learn more about the world and technology…feeling sure she didn’t know enough!


She aged with grace, humor, gratitude, an inspiration to all who witnessed her gifts and creative coping skills. Every spring, with triumph in her voice, she’d state, “Well, survived another winter!”, with clear memories of those brutal childhood winters on the Dakota prairie in that isolated farmhouse. She loved nature and savored the beauty around her, eyes glowing with the wonder and awe of childlike joy.


“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.” - Eleanor Roosevelt.


Arlene is survived by her daughter, Cathy (Rick Nevill) Arends; son, Larry (Annette) Landsness; her five grandchildren, Lisa (Brian Brown) Arends, Eric (Mebbie) Landsness, Monica (Gordon) Sansaver, Lindsay (Steve) Tremlett and Abigail (Tyler Anderson) Landsness; her six great-grandchildren, Emma and Rachel Landsness; Lily and Amelia Sansaver; and Owen and Harper Tremlett; and nieces, Denise (John) Cliver and Solveig (Karl) Spielman. She was preceded in death by her parents; son, Carl Landsness; husbands, Clarence Landsness and William (Bill) Brunsell; brother, Earl Jacobs; sister and brother-in-law, Verda and Don Ostrander; and niece, Diane Burling.


A memorial service will take place at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 16, 2025. Family and friends who wish to view the service via LIVESTREAM may visit Arlene’s obituary page at www.gundersonfh.com at the time of the service and click on "Watch Now" in the Webcast section. A visitation will be held at the funeral home from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service on Saturday.


Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.


Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420



Events

16
Visitation
Sat Aug 16, 2025 @ 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM CDT
Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care • 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, WI 53716
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16
Memorial Service
Sat Aug 16, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 11:40 AM CDT
Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care • 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, WI 53716
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16
Luncheon After Service
Sat Aug 16, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM CDT
Gunderson Funeral and Cremation Care - Madison • 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, WI 53716
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Arlene
DB
David Burling
Other •
She always loved the raspberries that Diane and I took her from our garden . 🙏
NJ
NIECE -Denise (Burling) Cliver & John
Other •
Loving Niece, (Denise & John Cliver) and extended family of GREAT nephews, GREAT GREAT nephews/nieces and GREAT GREAT GREAT niece/nephews
VZ
Venessa Zakana
Other •
When Arlene needed to go to the hospital and Larry had called to tell us the ambulance was on the way, she asked me to get her iPad. I asked her if she was sure she wanted to take it with her, since it could get lost or even stolen and she replied, "They are getting cheaper, I'll just buy another one". Venessa, her helper and loving friend
LA
Lisa Arends
Other •
Legacy During periods of struggle in my life, my maternal grandmother has been my lighthouse. She has endured many hardships during her 94 years and each one has caused her to embrace life with even more passion and vigor. She showed me from a very young age that although you cannot always change your circumstances, you can always change your attitude. I’ve always identified with my grandmother; we have similar wiring that causes us to think (and often over think!) through problems, planning every little detail. This means that we’re always prepared, but it also can create needless worry about things that may never occur. We are both driven by a hunger to know more, understand more. And we both have a memory that is both a blessing and a curse, that retains and replays every life scene. Her lessons make me laugh, as they never come in the expected form of words from a grandmother to a child. Her wisdom is transmitted through quips and actions that reveal the astuteness beneath. Here are a few of her pearls and the gifts beneath. Tenacity When I was in second grade, I was assigned a project to collect and identify seeds from several different trees. As an overachiever, I was not content to simply utilize the trees around my home in Texas, so I asked my grandmother to send me some from Wisconsin. A few days later, I opened an envelope with an assortment of seeds and a handwritten piece of paper detailing their origin. I promptly glued those seeds along with their southern relatives on a piece of poster board, labeled each find and turned it in. I was done. But grandma was just getting started. For the next three years, I would periodically receive an envelope filled with more seeds. I don’t think she stopped until she had collected genetic material from every tree in the state. Play One of my favorite memories of my grandmother is from a visit when I was a teenager. All of the cousins were present on this visit and the decision was made (probably for sanity’s sake) for the entire family to go to the water park. I assumed my grandmother, who was around 80 at the time, would elect to stay home or, at the very least, stay with the bags and the baby while the rest of us tackled the slides. I could not have been more wrong. There is something about the sight of an 80-year-old woman squealing with joy beneath her flowered swim cap going down a water slide that makes everyone smile. Openness I first moved in with my ex husband when we were just 19. I was nervous about my grandmother’s reaction. And shocked when I received it. One day, mere weeks after moving in, I received an envelope with a check for $200 (a fortune to two 19-year-olds just starting out) and a note that read, “This is a gift in stages for a marriage in stages.” Curiosity I think my grandmother could probably secure a job as a presidential advisor. No, seriously. She craves knowledge like a retriever follows a tennis ball. When mobility issues started to keep her home more, she found ways to bring the world to her. It’s not unusual for her to know about a weather event or other news story in my area before I do. Even though she has never been able to visit me in my 15 years in Atlanta, give her a map and she could plot every place I’ve ever lived and worked. Let’s just say we should all be appreciative she uses her powers for good, not evil. Defiance I have always been a rule follower. My grandmother is a rule breaker. No need to alert the police, she doesn’t speed or jaywalk or anything of that nature. But she also doesn’t let other’s rules box her in. Women aren’t supposed to do that? Hogwash. I’m too old? Watch this. Oh, I’m not supposed to think that way? Tough. At times, she has faced consequences for her actions, but she doesn’t waver. Acceptance I made a trek to Wisconsin mere weeks after Brock and I started dating. When I saw his picture on my grandmother’s fridge, I was a bit startled. It seemed too soon; I wasn’t sure this guy deserved a place among the family yet. “Don’t worry,” my grandmother replied to my inquisition with a smile, “It’s not up there with glue.” Gratitude My grandmother has nursed enough people to earn an honorary RN. She has survived the death of two husbands. She kept her family going through the depression and other hardships. She faced more obstacles than a participant in a mud run. And the amazing part? She never complains. No matter what life throws at her, she turns it over to see the positives hidden beneath. Her legacy is in her lessons, now passed on to her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and anyone else who has crossed her path.
KJ
Kevin Guillory, Jr.
Other •
To the family and dear friends of Sister Brunsell: It is clear that Sister Brunsell lived with extraordinary endurance, generosity, and steadfast love for Jehovah. Her years of faithful service, along with the kindness and care she extended to so many, bring to mind the words of Proverbs 10:7, “The memory of the righteous one is due for a blessing.” What a blessing her life and example have been to those who knew her. While her absence is deeply felt, we are comforted knowing Jehovah “is near to those that are broken at heart” and that “he saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). How encouraging it is to look ahead with confidence to the time when “death will be no more” and Jehovah will “call, and I myself will answer you,” by restoring his loyal ones to life in perfect health on a peaceful earth (Isaiah 25:8; Job 14:14, 15). Until that joyful day, may the beautiful example Sister Brunsell set—her resilience, her love for the truth, and her warm care for others—continue to strengthen and inspire you. Jehovah will not forget the work she did in love (Hebrews 6:10), and neither will those whose lives she touched. With heartfelt love and deepest sympathy, Kevin Guillory, Jr. Honolulu, HI
GH
Gunderson Funeral Home
Other •
"Can Do" and A Little Help Means Independence In one of Madison's charming older neighborhoods with modest turn-of-the-century homes lives a determinedly independent woman. She is Arlene Brunsell, retired, twice widowed, with interests ranging from world cultures to the latest Wisconsin grassroots news, as well as Bible study, especially comparing translations in search of the most accurate meaning. Now in her mid-nineties, as she likes to say, Brunsell also is interested in staying in the home where she's lived since the 1940s. She cues support like a symphony conductor, asking for more or less as her needs change. House cleaning and home organization assistance are her main requirements, and for these services, Arlene relies on Independent Living, Inc. More specifically, she relies on Venessa. "l feel so fortunate with Venessa. I couldn't have stayed at home here these last few years without her. She seems to know my needs before I even express them. It's like we're an old married couple!" Arlene jokes. Venessa has taken care of house cleaning, laundry and "being the right hand" for Arlene for 14 years. "At first, it was just a couple of hours a week," Venessa says. "l didn't need much help then," Arlene says. "Now I keep asking Venessa for more and more. Getting across the room takes me so long now that there are not enough hours in the day! The work just doesn't get done, and I depend on Venessa." Two days a week, Arlene has Venessa's help; since 1986, Arlene has used services from Independent Living, Inc. That was when her second husband, Bill Brunsell, became so ill that help with housekeeping and in-home care became necessary. Having done a lot of caregiving herself, Arlene knew it was important to have backup for herself. "My first husband, Clarence Landsness, was blind and sick for 16 years before he passed on," Arlene says. Her second husband, Bill, had a stroke a few months after their marriage, which meant Arlene dealt with rehab and care for eight years. She also cared for her mother and mother-in-law, and helped her quadriplegic sister for years. Arlene is very matter of fact in describing her life experiences, and she's had more than a few. Her mother was a Wisconsin native who moved to North Dakota for a teaching job. Her father, from the State of Oregon, moved to North Dakota "to make his fortune in wheat," Arlene guesses. Her parents met during the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic, when her mother nursed area residents including her father. Theirs was a brief marriage. Arlene was barely three, with a younger sister and brother, when her father died from appendicitis. Arlene recounts that a doctor summoned from 30 miles away arrived inebriated and that a second doctor from 40 miles away hastily operated right there on the kitchen table. Unfortunately, the appendix had ruptured. Her father died a week later. Arlene's mother kept the isolated farm going as best as she could. Then, when Arlene was nine, the house burned to the ground, ending life on the plains. Her mother moved her family to Wisconsin. During the Great Depression, Arlene enrolled at Whitewater State Teachers College. In her senior year, her mother became ill and unable to work. Arlene left college to help. Living in Madison, Arlene met a fellow North Dakota native: Clarence. They married in 1940 and had 35 years together. A skilled cabinetmaker, Clarence had his own business with Arlene as his partner. They grew their business and their family, with two sons and a daughter. All three children, plus mates, plus all five grandchildren and mates, have college degrees, a source of pride for Arlene. In 1975, Clarence passed away. In 1979, Arlene married Bill, a widower who also had been a family friend. They had nine years together before he passed away. These days life seems a bit quieter but still active. In the house are many assistive devices, mostly items Arlene has repurposed. Furnishings in the house are arranged within reach, and two canes, a walker and "lots of liniment" help Arlene navigate. Always close at hand is her iPad, for keeping in touch and "because there is so much to learn." Reverting to gentle humor yet again, Arlene jokes that she lives "in the triangle, meaning my bedroom, the bathroom and the kitchen!" She pauses, then adds, "I have a full life."

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