Arden Wendell Tewksbury, 93, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 30, 2026, at Geisinger South Hospital in Wilkes-Barre, PA. He was born on October 26, 1932, on the family farm in South Auburn, the sixth of eleven children born to the late Eldred Parker Tewksbury and Elsie Arvilla Love.

Arden was a 1950 graduate of Meshoppen High School. Despite losing his arm above the elbow in an accident at the age of three and a half, he played the sports he loved: basketball and baseball. His love for the sports continued throughout his life. For 30 years, he served as a PIAA basketball official and was a member of their Pennsylvania Board of Directors. Until recent years, he rarely missed an Elk Lake boys’ basketball game. Many fondly recall the message on his answering machine: “Remember, this house is an avid supporter of the New York Yankees, the Syracuse Orangemen, and the Elk Lake Warriors.”

In 2025, Arden was recognized as the longest serving volunteer school board member in the nation, retiring from the Elk Lake School District after an extraordinary 64 years of service. During his tenure, the Elk Lake swimming facilities and the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center were created, and Dairy Day, now known as Ag Day, was established. He represented the school on the board of the Northeast Intermediate Unit 19 since 2017. Arden was proud of the Elk Lake School District and genuinely cared about the well-being of its students, teachers, and staff.

Arden was a faithful member and trustee of the South Auburn Methodist Church and a lifetime member of South Auburn Grange #1188, where he served as Grange Master. In 1987, he was honored as Pennsylvania State Granger of the Year.

For more than 50 years, Arden operated a dairy farm in Meshoppen, retiring in 2003. Dairy farming and the rural agricultural lifestyle were central to his identity. He served on committees for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and the Pennsylvania Farmers Union, was a board director of Eastern Milk Producers Co-Op for nine years, and served as their president for the last five of those nine years. He also served as manager of Northern Tier. He founded and managed the Progressive Agriculture Organization since 1991. In these roles, Arden frequently addressed legislators in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., advocating for small, rural, family-owned dairy farms, particularly emphasizing the need for dairy farmers to be paid a fair price for their production.

In recent years, Arden became a passionate advocate for the reintroduction of whole milk in schools. The passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, with bipartisan support, would have been especially meaningful to him. True to form, Arden supplied countless pints of chocolate milk at community and social events.

Arden was preceded in death by his brothers Donald, Frank, Elden, and Dale Tewksbury, and by his sisters Louise DeWolfe, Berneta Gardner, and Martha Proof.

He is survived by his wife, Carol; one brother, John (Charlene) Tewksbury of South Auburn, PA; two sisters, Loretta Guitton of Montrose, PA, and Dianne (Rick) Lewis of Forkston, PA; five sons, Joe (Eilene) Tewksbury of Schenectady, NY; Brad (Cheryl) Tewksbury of Springville, PA; Dave (Tami) Tewksbury and Tim (Lori) Tewksbury, both of Meshoppen, PA; and Mike (Mary) Tewksbury of Yorba Linda, CA; two daughters, Pat Rowe of Tunkhannock, PA, and Mary Fenyus of Gilbertsville, PA; one stepson, Thomas Sullivan of Port Charlotte, FL; as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins.

A viewing will be held at Sheldon Funeral Home 8206 Main St., Meshoppen, PA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026 from 4:00 to 7:00PM. A funeral service will be held at the South Auburn Methodist Church on Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM, with Lay Minister Vickie Ellis, of the Beaver Meadows Church officiating. Interment will be in the Jersey Hill Cemetery. Grange Services will be held preceding the funeral services, conducted by the members of the South Auburn Grange #1188.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Arden W. Tewksbury Scholarship Fund, c/o the Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains, 270 Lake Avenue, Montrose, PA 18801, or by calling 570-278-3800 to donate by credit card. Established in 2017 in honor of Arden’s 85th birthday, the scholarship provides tuition assistance to an Elk Lake graduating senior who demonstrates school spirit and volunteer service, qualities that Arden exemplified throughout his life.

Arrangements were made through the Sheldon Funeral Home, 8206 Main St., Meshoppen, PA.

Online condolences may be made at www.SheldonFuneralHomes.com.