Alice Irene Jones

She was born on July 14, 1922 to Tom and Pearl Olsen in Marshalltown, Iowa. She grew up on her family farm in the nearby community of Ferguson. Alice was a waitress, assembly line worker and telephone operator after high school. She married her husband Ralph W. Jones in 1945.

After the war, she farmed with Ralph near Conrad, Iowa, for a few years. Alice quit her work to raise her family. When her children were in their teens, she went to work out of boredom as a school cook in Bloomington, Minnesota. She decided to return to school and finish her teaching degree at the University of Minnesota in 1969.

Alice and her husband Ralph moved to Grand Rapids in 1969 where she taught second grade in the Grattan-Belding School System until her retirement. Alice loved children. She was active with the MEA for many years and was a big advocate of the MEA Senior Strength Training Program. She also worked as a volunteer at Blodgett Hospital for several years in retirement. In her early retirement years, she moved to Cadillac, Michigan, with Ralph until he retired. There she enjoyed singing with the Sweet Adelines. Alice also enjoyed bird watching, gardening, nature and outdoor education.

Alice took care of her elderly mother, Pearl Olsen, for 14 years both in her home and assisted living. Alice visited her every day unwilling to put her in full-time nursing care. A major disappointment in Alice’s life was to lose her beloved husband Ralph just 30 days after burying her mother in 1994. Her retirement years were not always easy. She beat back cancer twice, an intestinal obstruction, and had to live with a pacemaker after crashing her car into a tree.

She was a lifetime member of the Church of Christ (acapella) and attended services every time the church doors were open until her health made attendance impossible. Alice helped found churches in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Richfield, Minnesota. She was an active and a beloved member of both the Cadillac and Grandville Church of Christ in Michigan. Alice loved her church family, taught children’s Bible classes, and especially enjoyed hymn singing.

Alice lived the last year of her life in the memory care unit of Samaritas in Grand Rapids. She loved the employees there and had much affection for them.

Alice is survived by her beloved children Ronald Jones of Charleston, South Carolina, Bruce and (Dawn) Jones of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Ann and (Gary) Varner of Abilene, Texas. She also leaves behind nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents Tom in 1966 and Pearl Olsen in 1994; husband, Ralph in 1994; and her only brother, Tom Olsen in 2018, and daughter-in-law Sharon Jones in 2018.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, July 22, 2019 at Cook Memorial Chapel (East building), 4235 Prairie St., S.W., Grandville. The family will receive relatives and friends Sunday, July 21, from 2 - 4 p.m. at Cook Funeral Home (West building) and one hour prior to service on Monday.

For those that wish to make a memorial gift, contributions may be made to Beechwood Hills (W.M.C.E. Inc.) Youth Camp, 3144 - 22nd St., Hopkins MI 49328.

The family welcomes memories and messages in their online guest book at www.cookcares.com.

To view the Keepsake Video please click on the link below.

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