Alice Faye Guldenpfennig

Alice, Chigger, Mom, Nana, Great Nana - the sweetest person ever - was fittingly born on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1938 “in a house, up a holler, in Whites Creek, WV”. She was the youngest of 11 children born to George Custer Hartman and Martha Elizabeth (Cornwell) Hartman, whom all affectionately called her “Chigger” her entire life.

Alice grew up in Kenova, WV, playing in the woods, learning extensively about plants and flowers, and riding horses bareback at 10 years old. She also worked at the Chatterbox drive-in restaurant, and worked a summer in Chicago at her uncle’s walk-up outdoor restaurant.

After graduating from Ceredo-Kenova high school, she moved with her parents to St. Petersburg, FL to be near some of her siblings and family. Alice had 7 brothers and 3 sisters, with four of her brothers proudly serving concurrently in World War II.

In St Pete, Alice met her future husband, Roger Allen Guldenpfennig, Dad, who at that time was stationed at MacDill AFB. Alice and Roger married on February 20, 1960 in St Pete, and welcomed their first baby, Robin Faye, in December of that year.

After Roger’s honorable discharge from the Air Force in 1961, the couple relocated to Roger’s hometown of Buffalo, Iowa, where they settled down and raised a family. Roger initially worked with his Dad, Leonard, running the family business known as Guldy’s Service Station where the present day Buffalo Casey’s is located. Joni Gail was soon added to the family in August 1962, with Len Allen arriving later in September 1969. Roger later worked and retired from the Buffalo cement plant.

Alice was extremely patriotic and proud of her multiple family members that served in the Armed forces. She had many wonderful traits - a very kind soul, extremely selfless, big hearted, an amazingly smart trivia guru, adventurous and capable outdoorsman, organized, disciplined, determined, and thoughtful. She ran the household keeping Roger, the kids, bills, and home in-line and well taken care of. As the kids got older, Alice ran her own Avon, Home Interiors, and flower arrangement businesses, and eventually settled in making components for John Deere at the Sears Manufacturing plant, retiring in 2000.

Alice and Roger enjoyed fishing and chasing the Crappie spawn, taking multiple trips to various lakes in southeast Iowa throughout each spring. She absolutely loved outfishing Roger at every opportunity, regardless that he teased, “I’m not going to bring you anymore!” Alice enjoyed hunting with Roger, and also kept her enthusiasm for plants and flowers her entire life, always having a nice flower-scaped yard, a huge vegetable garden around home to feed the family, and doing tons of canning and juicing in late summer. Her kids, friends and family could ask her “what’s this flower”, and she could rattle off information about a plant she hadn’t seen in years. Alice loved to read, often burning through a book of westerns, adventure, or exploration every few days. She was also an absurdly obnoxious Iowa Hawkeye fan, cussing at the TV and armchair coaching basketball and football for many years.

A fighter through and through - she overcame a massive stroke and brain craniectomy in 2001, multiple heart attacks in the 2000-teens, and fought through metastatic breast cancer and a COVID infection in the 2020s.

Throughout it all, Alice said “quit is not in my vocabulary”, “I’m a tough old bird”, and “spit it out, I have broad shoulders”. She always worked hard to regain and retain as much mobility and quality of life as possible, and in spite of all her difficulties remained the most kind and thoughtful person anyone could imagine. Alice was clear and focused, “there’s no sense in getting upset about it. I want to be a good example for my kids, grandkids and great grandkids”. We all will continue to learn from her.

Alice was preceded in death by her husband, Roger, on November 14, 2000, as well as her parents and all but one sibling.

Alice is survived by her children, Robin (Wayne), Joni, and Len (Amber); grandkids Jacob (Lauren) and Tayla (Mason); great-grandkids Owen, Dawsyn and Evynn; and her close sister Fanny (Ronnie), as well as many extended family members.

Services will be held at the Buffalo, Iowa levee area, tentatively on September 6th or 7th. In lieu of flowers, donations in Alice’s name to the Chad Pregracke Living Lands & Waters Mississippi River cleanup organization are appreciated. https://www.livinglandsandwaters.org/

Her smile, positive attitude, directness, quick wit and Mom jokes will be missed by all. Through her multiple substantial challenges, she remained an amazingly good and selfless person. Her son, Len, an Infantry Marine, is adamant that, “Mom is the toughest person I have ever known.”