Mary Jane Arwine

Mary Jane Arwine, age 87, of Vandalia, passed away Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at The Hospice of Dayton. Mary Jane was born March 22, 1938 in Dayton to the late Francis William & Marjorie Louise (Sullivan) Shea. In addition to her parents, Mary Jane was also preceded in death by her sister, Joan Shea.

Mary Jane was a charter member of St. Christopher Catholic Church. She held several jobs during her life, but her favorite was her time at Vandalia-Butler High School as an English Resource Center Aide. Her desk in the library became a gathering spot for the kids that she loved—and who loved her. Her favorite jobs were those where she got to interact with people, and she especially enjoyed working the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) trapshoot in Vandalia every summer.

A self-described water girl, Mary Jane loved fishing, boating, and swimming. She was fearless and never shied away from an adventure. She took her teenage children on a trip to the British Virgin Islands. She sailed from Florida across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas multiple times. At age 50, she earned her scuba diving certification. In her golden years, she could be found most summers on her boat, the Janie B, fishing, sunbathing, and cruising across Lake Erie with family and friends.

Above all, Mary Jane was a people person. She made friends everywhere she went, no matter how trivial the interaction: neighbors, fellow churchgoers, children at the school library, other boaters in the marina, coworkers—everyone. She could hold a conversation for hours, and always remembered the little details. She was close to her childhood best friend for more than 70 years. She even took a selfie with the Verizon employee who sold her phone. And the friends she made were friends for life; if she wasn’t calling someone to chat, then someone was ringing her.

Mary Jane knew how to take care of people. She fed them, body and soul. She was a wonderful listener and always had words of comfort and advice to offer. And no one ever went hungry in her home. Her grandchildren, who called her Meemaw, knew a feast always awaited them at every visit. From chicken and biscuits to mashed potatoes to pot roast to snickerdoodles to hand-dipped buckeye candies to chocolate cream pie, she would happily make them whatever comfort food they wanted. Thanksgiving was an unmissable event each year—and so was every other meal around Mary Jane’s table.

It was a source of humor among her family that although she was an incomparable cook, she was not so good at teaching her recipes to anyone else. Even when hovering by the stove side while she cooked, her own children could not figure out how to replicate what she could do. No one else had her instincts in the kitchen. Her instructions rarely included measurements—it was always add “a pinch” of this, cook “until it’s the right color,” and (on one notable occasion) “add 1 milk.”

But Mary Jane was always in on the joke. She had an unbeatable sense of humor and never took herself too seriously. When learning to scuba dive, she never quite mastered getting back into the dinghy and had to be dragged in; she famously said, “If you guys can get these boobs in, the rest will follow!” During her time in the hospital, nurses loved her so much that they would fight over who got to take care of her, and anyone searching for her room just had to follow the sound of people laughing.

Shortly before her passing, one nurse came in to check on her. “How do you feel?” the nurse asked. Mary Jane paused, and then, with a big grin spreading across her face, answered: “With my hands.”

She loved animals: Nuke the dog, Snowball the cat, Minnie the heron. She was an avid watcher of the same soap opera since her teenage years and would enlist people to record any episode she missed. She enjoyed a good margarita while crunching on hint of lime tortilla chips. Her favorite song was ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” She had a fondness for orchids. Her favorite color was purple—and she looked great in it. She will be remembered for her warmth, her charm, her kindness, her love, her signature brightly colored lipstick that she never went without, and her laugh—which will last forever in the memories of those who knew her.

Mary Jane is survived by her loving husband of the past 66 years, Bobby Gerald Arwine. Together, they had three children, Susan (Eric) Kirker, Sandra (Michael) Spoltman and Scott (Joan) Arwine; seven grandchildren, Derek (Jasmine), Ben (Becca), Max (Emma), Jane (Michael), Jack (Mariana), Julia, and Natalie; and three great grandsons, Eliot, Evan, and Liam. She is also survived by one brother, Michael (Gracelyn) Shea; and by her extended family and many good friends.

The family will be receiving friends from 4:00pm - 7:00 pm, Monday, June 30, at Morton & Whetstone funeral home, 139 S. Dixie Drive, Vandalia. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Rev. Fr. John Tonkin at 11:00 am, Tuesday (7/1) at St. Christopher Church, 435 East National Road, Vandalia. Burial will follow at Poplar Hill Cemetery in Vandalia. In lieu of flowers, contributions should be made in memory of Mary Jane to either St. Christopher Church or The Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Ave, Dayton, Ohio 45420.