Margaretha Ingrid Nana (Olsén) Arienti, of Stockbridge, died peacefully at her home on August 25, 2024, surrounded by family. She was born on July 7, 1936, in Kastlösa, Sweden, a small town on the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea.
Margaretha was an adventurer from the beginning, loving the ocean, the outdoors, and travel. She studied languages at Lunds Universitet in Lund, Sweden, and the Sorbonne in Paris, France, before embarking at age 20 on a solo journey to the United States. There she travelled cross country from New Jersey to San Francisco by bus, visiting friends and family along the way.
While in San Francisco, she met her late husband of 58 years, Thomas M. Arienti of Great Barrington, who was serving as a captain in the U.S. Air Force in California. They married in 1958 in San Francisco and, soon after the birth of their first child, moved back to the East Coast, settling in Stockbridge; there they raised their five children.
After teaching physical education for many years at Berkshire Country Day School, Margaretha returned to school and earned a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology from American International College. She worked as a licensed educational psychologist for many years at BCDS, as well as on her own, performing neuropsychology and educational testing and individually tutoring children with learning disabilities. She was totally dedicated to her students and their successful learning, helping innumerable students realize their full potential.
Margaretha was a lifelong fitness enthusiast and loved tennis and both cross-country and downhill skiing well into her 70s. She encouraged and followed her children in the same and other sports. She was an incredibly devoted and loving mother to her five children and their spouses, Cecilia Wilkinson (George), Mark (Anna Louise), Per (Kari), Elizabeth “Lili” Sloane (Todd), and Nicholas (Fran), as well as a devoted and loving grandmother—or “Mormor”—to her 10 grandchildren, George, Charlotte, Katherine, Lars, Olivia, Ian, Caitlyn, Teddy, Evan and Anders. She leaves them as well as a sister, Gunilla Secher, of Råå, Sweden, and two nieces and a nephew, Christel, Jenny, and Ola Secher.
Margaretha thrived on watching her children and grandchildren play sports and pursue other endeavors, and she closely followed and fostered their academic success. She was an excellent cook, hosting many years of much-loved Swedish Midsommar and Christmas Eve celebrations with delicious Swedish specialties, and she had a true “green thumb,” cultivating beautiful gardens for many years at her home in Stockbridge.
There will be a wake at Birches-Roy Funeral Home, 33 South Street, Great Barrington, MA, on September 2, 2024, from 2 to 4 p.m., with a private family funeral service on September 3. Donations in lieu of flowers are encouraged to the Alzheimer’s Association or HospiceCare in the Berkshires. The family plans to host a Celebration of Life in early October and asks that family and friends interested in attending email ests40@icloud.com to receive details. Condolences may be made through the funeral home’s website.
