Obituary: Alice Schwass, 87, Scottville.

Alice Schwass

Alice Schwass, 87 of Scottville, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday June 7, 2016 at her home, from complications related to her illness, Myasthenia Gravis.  She had required in home care this past year, and in the end also hospice care.  The family deeply appreciates the care provided by Shepard’s Staff & Harbor Hospice.

Alice was born April 2, 1929, the daughter of Henrietta and Carl Peters and was raised in an area called Holy Corners in Caledonia.  Alice’s young life was spent surrounded by many aunts, uncles and cousins.  Her fondest memories were of Sunday family dinners at her Grandpa and Grandma Ruehs, and also playing sports and rolling skating with her many cousins.

Alice graduated from Caledonia High School in 1947 and started working at the Caledonia Farmers Elevator Co-op.  She was also the 1949 Dairy Queen for Kent County.  In 1948 she enrolled in the home economics short course at Michigan State College, and that is where she met her beloved husband James.  They were married in St. Paul Lutheran Church at Holy Corners in Caledonia on August 26, 1950, and had celebrated 65 years together.  Alice then moved to Scottville with Jim to help run the family dairy farm.  She was a homemaker, the bookkeeper for the farm, and on many days you would see her driving the tractor baling hay, or on the asparagus picker.  Together Jim and Alice were the Outstanding Young Dairy Couple for the State of Michigan in 1957.

Alice was an outstanding cook, and loved gardening.  She was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Scottville, where she sang in the choir and served on numerous committees’ throughout the years.  Her faith and her family were so important to Alice.

Alice will be lovingly remembered by her husband James and their five children:  Lesa (Jim) Blaser of Minneapolis Minnesota, Marcie (Arlen) McCloskey, Ronald (Constance) Schwass, William (Veronica) Schwass, all of Scottville, and Julie (Anthony) DeVecht of Grand Haven.  She will also be greatly missed by her 14 grandchildren: Aaron Blaser, Ross McCloskey, Stacey (Tobias) Scouten, Trent (Shayna) and Riley McCloskey, Katherine, Lee (Molly), Lucas, and Makenna Schwass, Levi and Jocee Schwass, Aris and Hannah DeVecht; her 12 great-grandchildren: Logan and Gabrielle McCloskey, Jonah, Isabelle, Isaiah, and Isaac Scouten, Teagan, Lexi, and Max McCloskey, Eliza, Conrad, and Hazel Schwass; along with several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Alice was preceded in death by her mother Henrietta Peters, brother Clyde Peters, and her mother-in-law and father-in-law Carl and Dveka Schwass.

Funeral services will be held for Alice at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14 at Our Savior Lutheran Church with her pastor, The Rev. James Schroeder officiating.  Burial will take place at Center Riverton Cemetery.  Friends may meet with her family for a time of visitation on Monday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Wyman Funeral & Cremation Services – Stephens Funeral Home in Scottville and on Tuesday morning from 10 am. until time of services at the church.

Those who wish to remember Alice with a memorial donation are asked to consider Our Savior Lutheran Church-Annual Mission Fund, Mayo Clinic-Myasthenia Gravis Research, or Harbor Hospice.

Please visit Alice’s memory page at www.wymanfuneralservice.com to leave a tribute of Alice for her family or to light a candle in her memory.