Arlene "Artie" Judy Joppru of 35 George St. Pittsfield, Massachusetts, died Friday, May 15th at Hillcrest Commons in Pittsfield after a long, courageous fight against breast cancer. Artie was born on June 15, 1947 in Thief River Falls, Minnesota to Evelyn Dahl Joppru and the late Arthur Joppru. She graduated from Lincoln High School in Thief River in 1965 where she was active in 4-H, Drama and her church. She attended Northland Community College and then moved to Minneapolis where she worked for Northwestern Bell as Marketing Manager. She moved to Denver, Colorado and worked for Mountain Bell for 20 years. In 1985 she made the Berkshires her home, establishing The Decorating Den, a home decorating business. She began her career in Real Estate in 1987 with Property Lines, then Isgood Realty and Re-Max. Since 2000 she had been a Realtor Associate of Piretti Real Estate in Lenox. Artie was active in the Berkshire County Board of Realtors, serving as Treasurer in 1994-95, President Elect in 1996 and on the Personnel and Professional Standards Committees. She was a Director of the Mutliple Listing Service in 2005 and its Vice President in 2006.

She is survived by her mother Evelyn of Thief River Falls, sisters Lou Rollins of Austin, Texas and Shirley Joppru of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, her brother Sheldon and wife Kay of Minnetonka, Minnesota, her niece Kim Swenson-Wood and husband Wayne of Pittsfield, 5 nephews, one great niece and one great nephew, her "family of friends" in the Berkshires and her beloved cat Tanner.

A celebration of Artie's life will be held at the New Life Community Fellowship Church, 172 Hubbard Ave in Pittsfield on Thursday, May 21 at 10:00 a.m. Memorial contributions in Artie's memory may be made to Hospice Care in the Berkshires or the Berkshire Humane Society, both in care of the Dery Funeral Home 54 Bradford St. Pittsfield.