Alice M. Oldham

Alice Mabel Oldham, age 96, was born on a farm in Washington Twp., Will Co, near Peotone , IL on July 3, 1920, to parents August Hermann Hasenjaeger and Marie Elizabeth Sophie Krohn. She was born peacefully into eternal life with our Lord on December 11, 2016, where she will spend eternity once again joyfully reunited with her parents, sister Dorothy (William) Bermich, late husband Earl Clyde Oldham and son-in-law Paul Mark Goetz. Alice is survived by her loving children, Carole Marie (Paul M.) Goetz and Wayne Earl (Denise) Oldham and grandchildren Kristine (Peter) Bonebrake, Jennifer (Joseph) Volino and Matthew Goetz, Amanda (Alex) Erickson and Jason Oldham and 5 great-grandchildren and 2 step-great-grandchildren. Alice grew up on a small farm in Peotone, IL, where she helped her parents with gardening and raising chickens, cows and pigs for market. Her father, August, was Peotone's Chief of Police for several years. Alice was baptized and confirmed at Immanuel Evangelical Church in Peotone. She attended Peotone grammar school for grades 1-8 and graduated from Peotone High School in 1938. After graduation, Alice worked in Chicago where she met the love of her life, Earl Oldham, whom she married on January 24,1943. They had a wonderful and happy life together, first living in an apartment in Chicago until 1954, when they moved to their brand new house in Niles, IL. In 1974, Earl retired from Teletype Corporation and they moved to Bull Shoals, Arkansas and then, 11 years later, to Sun City West, Arizona. Earl and Alice loved to travel and went on many a great excursion all over the U.S., Canada and Europe. After Earl passed away at age 91, on Jan. 2, 2004, Alice reluctantly left her beloved sunny Arizona and moved to Minocqua, WI, in 2007, to be nearer to family. In early 2012, she moved into an apartment in the new Milestone Assisted Living in Woodruff, WI. In Niles and Arkansas, Alice loved tending to her bountiful vegetable and fabulous flower gardens. Her rose bushes were stupendous (her secret ingredients were coffee grounds and egg shells). In Niles, Alice was active in the Women's Assoc. of Niles Community Presbyterian Church, where she and Earl were charter members. Alice also loved to sew and create clothes for Carole and later doll clothes for her granddaughters. She even took on the job of reupholstering her couch and chairs. Some of Alice's other hobbies were fishing, when they lived in Arkansas, and league bowling. In Arizona, she finally overcame a life-long fear of water, and learned to swim. She then swam and exercised in the gym daily. After glaucoma and macular degeneration limited her vision, she enjoyed listening to recorded books on CD's. Alice was a devoted Chicago Cubs fan and watched every televised game and was ecstatic when they (finally) won the World Series. Everyone who met Alice loved her. She was a wonderful, devoted, loving and caring friend, wife, grandmother and mother and she will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Rest forever in the peace of God, dearest Mother. You've earned it. Per Alice's wishes, she will be cremated and there will be no church service. Her family will have a memorial celebration of her life next summer.

Alice M. Oldham

July 3, 1920 - December 11, 2016