Alice Jean Hamilton Walters died at age 104 on June 22, 2021. A memorial service was held at First United Methodist Church, Jefferson, Iowa.
She left this earth as she lived it – as a wonderful matter-of-fact woman who devoted herself to making the world better for others and making as little fuss over herself as possible. Here is the bare-facts obituary that she left for us – all she felt we needed to know. She obviously believed that complete sentences for her obituary were an unnecessary embellishment: Born 8-23-16 in Carroll County, IA (the residence is gone so it would be difficult to find the address).
–Lived in Wisconsin and Clay County, IA. started school in Moneta (Clay County).
–Moved to Glidden (Carroll, County. Graduated in 1933).
–Graduated ISC (later university) 1938.
–Employed as a Home Economist Farm Security.
–Married Duane Walters 1939. He died 1943.
–Worked with a statistician at Pioneer until 1948.
–Worked as a home economist for Graybar Electric in Texas and the Extension Service in Greene County, IA.
–Volunteered with the church and Jefferson/Scranton Schools.
–By the time you read this “she died.”
–The bare facts — that’s the way I came into this world and that’s the way I’ll leave it.
But perhaps we should fill in a few blanks:
Alice grew up in Greene County and graduated from Iowa State (then College) in an era when not many women did so. Alice met Duane Walters at a mixer in the Methodist Church basement in Ames and married him in 1939 knowing that she would soon be a widow. Duane was terminally ill when they married and she lived with him in Texas until he died in 1943.
Before returning from Texas to Greene County, Alice hosted a demonstration cooking show on television and did in-store cooking demonstrations for Graybar Electric, teaching homemakers how to cook using electric appliances, which were new at the time. When she appeared on her first television show, she had never seen a television show before.
Upon returning to Iowa after Duane’s death, Alice worked for Pioneer in Des Moines and later the Iowa State Extension Service in Greene County.
She volunteered as an in-class teaching assistant in Jefferson public schools and retired from this position when she was age 98. Retired Greene County elementary school teacher Sherri Schwaller remembers her this way:
“We knew each other from church and developed a friendship. She joined me in my classroom for almost 20 years. She was always so reliable and faithful. She hardly ever missed a day. Many times she stayed well beyond the hour she had planned. She read with kids, helped them with their math and reading skills, kept them focused and on task. She played games with the kids, clipped Campbell Soup labels and box tops for the school to send in. She was a tireless volunteer who touched many lives. She often brought pictures of wildlife to share with the kids so they could learn about the bears, moose, fish, etc.”
Alice served as a 4-H leader and longstanding judge at the Greene County Fair. She received a lifetime 4-H achievement award at age 100, presented to her at the Iowa State Fair in 2016. To her last days, she proudly wore her Greene County 4-H lapel pin.
For many years she served as a volunteer at the Jefferson Methodist Church. Retired church secretary Deb Blackburn remembers her this way:
“I worked with Alice for over 30 years. She loved the church & would do anything to make it better. She was a good & faithful servant. If someone complained about anything she would say, ‘then you’re in charge the next time.’”
Alice took up knitting in the late 1930s in order to make a Christmas gift for her father-in-law and didn’t stop knitting sweaters, Christmas stockings, and mittens for friends, family, and Jefferson school kids until a few days before her death. She gave knitting lessons to fellow residents at her retirement community after she failed to entice them with her offer to teach them how to bake bread. She was giving knitting lessons to her nursing staff a week before her death.
She valued being an informed citizen and was a longtime subscriber to local newspapers, “Friend of the Library” in Jefferson, and supporter of Iowa Public Television.
Alice is survived by her niece Ann Hamilton Campbell of Ames, her nephews Mark Hamilton of Des Moines and Bruce Hamilton of Baltimore, MD, by nine great nieces and nephews and seven great-great nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, Alice’s family suggests a donation in her honor to the Alice Walters memorial fund at Greene County 4-H.
Donate online at https://www.iowa4hfoundation.org/en/ways_to_give/
OR
Check or money order can be made payable to Iowa 4-H Foundation and mailed to:
Iowa 4-H Foundation
1259 Stange Rd
Ames, IA 50011-3630
