Alice Mae Neufeld

Born on May 28th 1924 to Ephraim and Nellie Ann (Doerr) Lehman, she was the 3rd eldest of 12 children. She often spoke warmly of her childhood living on the farm and remembered fondly walking with her brothers and sisters to their grandparent’s farm to visit.

Alice met her husband Herb during WWII, when he asked a friend for a girl to write to as a pen pal. After the war he proposed to Alice, and she moved with him to California. She raised her five beautiful children, and helped him on the farm he worked on. When he retired, she worked at Rascal Ranch in Bakersfield, California; starting at first in childcare and later as a cook. Alice dedicated 14 years of her life as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels at the Rasmussen Senior Center, service that reflected her generous heart and her belief in the importance of community support.

Her spiritual life was deeply rooted in her faith, as in her youth she was a member of the Congress Hill Church of God in Franklin, Pennsylvania. Later, she spent many years with the Olive Branch Community Church in Bakersfield, California. She had many friends among her church family who looked forward to her visits after she relocated to Idaho to live with her daughter.

Alice had amazing skills as a seamstress as she could look at clothing on display and recreate them without patterns. She also crocheted countless afghans. Many members of her family were involved in several arts and crafts, and she passed that love and talent to many more family throughout the years. She kept old clothes in trunks for her grandchildren to play dress up with and there was no shortage of fun and joy to be had when they visited. She kept many personal journals, worked countless word search books and always had a puzzle on a table to be worked from her large collection of them.

A lover of animals, she particularly loved small poodles and grew fond of family cats. Alice loved thrift shopping and antique stores and almost always found a treasure each time. She was warm and friendly and had a wonderful sense of humor and could be counted on to enjoy a good road trip. She loved reading the paper, especially the funnies, and also would keep in touch with her family in Pennsylvania with letters and cards.

She had two very close friends in Diana Courtney and Peggy Watkins, whom were her next door neighbors in Bakersfield.

Alice was preceded in death by her husband Herbert Neufeld; her son Herbert Leroy Neufeld; and her daughter Judy Neufeld. In addition to her parents, her five sisters, Dorothy Sopher, Florence Ross, Ethel Orlando, Gladys Hites, Kathleen Harrington; four brothers, Roy Lehman, Paul Lehman, Glenn Lehman and David Lehman also preceded her.

She is survived by her children, Danny (Sandy) Neufeld of Thornton, Colorado; Nellie (Robert ) Spradling of Coalinga, California; and Diana (Norman) Else of Mountain Home, Idaho. Additionally surviving are two sisters, Lucy Ratzlaff of Shafter, California and Mildred Cozad of Franklin, Pennsylvania. They will cherish her memory along with nine grandchildren and several great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

A service to honor Alice will be held at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Bakersfield, California, on May 15th 2025 at 1230 pm.