Arline Ann Drill

Northview - North Mankato Mortuary

2060 Commerce Drive

North Mankato, MN 56003

507-388-2288

Arline Ann (Dittrich) Drill was born on 1/22/31, the second of six children of Benno Dittrich and Celestine (Hagler) Dittrich in New Ulm, Minnesota.  She married Dennis Roger Drill in New Ulm, Minnesota, in 1950, and they had four children.  She lost Denny at age 31 to a brain aneurysm, and she raised their four children, seven & under, alone thereafter.  She worked at and managed Montgomery Ward for many years, then North Central Public Service, and she always supplemented that income with waitressing jobs on nights and weekends, including at the Inn Towne and The Junction Inn.   When she was in her fifties, she sold or gave away almost everything she owned to move to Fort Worth, Texas, to pursue her fame and fortune in the resale business, a/k/a the junk business.  She loved every minute of it and was extremely successful.  Her children finally convinced her to come home at age 77 so they could spend more time with her.

Arline was a very social woman, and she loved nothing better than laughing and joking with people, and if she got a chuckle out of you, that was frosting on the cake. Sometimes her humor was puzzling to the listener but it was always funny to her.  An opportunity to play cards, whether Sheepshead, Bridge, 500 or Buck Euchre (her favorite) was never to be passed up.  Arline was a beautiful woman who took great pride in her appearance, only venturing out with her hair styled, wearing meticulously clean and pressed clothes, makeup and jewelry.  She was a great cook and always put great breakfasts and suppers on the table for her kids.  She was known for her lemon meringue pies, fried chicken, and her orange rolls for brunch after Sunday church at Holy Rosary.  She took her children fishing quite often, something they still talk about to this day, and ventured on car trips with her children in the 1960s and early ‘70s to Colorado, Washington, D.C. and Texas. She was a skilled seamstress and, when a working woman, sewed just about all of her own clothes, including tailored blazers and jackets.   

Arline is survived by her four children: Tom (Rhonda) Drill of Eagan; and from North Mankato, Brian (Cindy) Drill, Denise “Mitz” Drill, and Doug (Julie) Drill; eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren; three sisters, Rose Chandler of Texas, Dee Schonauer of Arizona, and Shirley Rolstad of Colorado; two sisters-in-law, Anita Dittrich of Mankato and Marion Dittrich of Perham.  She was predeceased by her husband, Dennis; her brothers, James and Jerome; her brothers-in-law, Eddie Schonauer and Dean Rolstad.

Visitation will be held at Northview Mortuary in North Mankato on Thursday, November 19, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.  There will be a private family mass at Holy Rosary on November 20, and interment at Calvary Cemetery immediately thereafter.

Memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.