Elise Arell, 96, of Beacon, passed away peacefully at home, on Thursday, December 23, 2016. She was born in Finland on February 21, 1920 to the late Gustaf Adolf Waldemar and Fanny Mathilda (Kullberg) Soderberg.

Elise was predeceased by her husband William Anselm Arell. William passed away on June 29, 2006.

Elise and William were both greatly impacted by the war that raged between tiny Finland and the Soviet Union from 1939 to 1943.  Elise as a "Lotta" perched atop a tall tower watching for enemy airplanes and William was fighting on the front lines until he was severely wounded by a bomb.  They met after the war when William and his family were relocated to the Porvoo area of Finland. They were married in April 1946.

In the early 1950s Elise and William packed up their belongings and sailed into New York harbor with their three small children in tow.  They made their home in Brooklyn New York's "Finntown".  After the children were grown, they moved to Dutchess County where gardening and weaving on a room size loom kept them both busy.

Elise is survived by her children, Maire Kowalewski of Salt Point, Leila Vuorenmaa of Pleasant Valley and Tom Arell and his wife, Barbara of Bedminster, NJ; brother, Kurt Soderberg; four granddaughters, Christine Chesworth and her husband, Richard, Kathryn Mahajuodeen and her husband Meraash, Tarja McGrail and her husband, James, and Brigit Marinelli and her husband, Steven; four great granddaughters, Emily, Caitlin, Allison and Mya and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brothers, Walter Backstrom, Erik Helenius and Birger Soderberg.

Visitation will be held on Friday, December 30, 2016 from 10 to 1PM, at Robert H. Auchmoody Funeral Homes, Inc., 1028 Main St., Fishkill, NY 12524. Funeral services will be held at 1PM from the funeral home. Burial will follow at Fishkill Rural Cemetery.