Alice Reinders, 92 of Emmetsburg formerly of Mallard, passed away on Sunday, August 11, 2024, at Lakeside Lutheran Home in Emmetsburg. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, August 15, 2024, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mallard. Burial will take place at Rush Lake Cemetery in Mallard. Visitation will be held on Thursday from 9:30 AM until the time of the service at 11:00 AM at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mallard. Services have been entrusted to Lentz Funeral Home of Mallard.
Alice Hilda Laura Reinders was born February 21, 1932, at a home in West Bend, Iowa, to Ernest and Alma (Wichtendahl) Gade. She had five older siblings and a younger brother, Donald, who was born on her fifth birthday. She was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith and attended school in Emmetsburg.
Alice was united in marriage to Milo Reinders on July 19, 1949, in Jackson, Minnesota. Except for two years living on a farm outside Emmetsburg, Milo and Alice lived and worked in Mallard after their marriage. They both worked at the Mallard Creamery until buying the “Whitmer Farm” west of Mallard in 1963, where they lived the rest of their married lives. Besides helping Milo on the farm, caring for their home and four children, Alice worked in the Mallard Community School lunchroom for many years, starting as a dishwasher and retiring as head cook in 1999.
Alice was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Mallard all her married life. She was a member of the Elizabeth Circle and also taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School for many years. Alice had a beautiful singing voice and sang alto in the church choir. She and Milo enjoyed socializing with other members of the church’s Fellowship Club. Alice was always on the sidelines cheering on the Mallard Ducks, especially when her sons were playing basketball and football. She would get so enthusiastically involved in Iowa Hawkeye games that her family teased her about making sure she took her blood pressure medication before each game!
Milo and Alice enjoyed traveling together, often to Ohio, Illinois and Michigan to visit relatives. A special trip was to Hawaii to celebrate their 25th anniversary. They took their children on an annual summer fishing trip to Canada for many years, with all six of them living in a pop-up camper for a week until they upgraded to a roomier cabin. After their children were grown, Milo and Alice took many fishing trips with friends. They enjoyed spending several months at their winter home in McAllen, Texas, during their retirement years.
After Milo’s death in 2009, Alice continued to live on the family farm for several years before moving to assisted living at Lakeside Lutheran and later to Lakeside Nursing Home.
Alice is preceded in death by her husband, Milo; her parents, Ernest and Alma Gade; and her father and mother-in-law, William and Marcia Reinders. She also joins in heaven her siblings and in-laws – Leonard Gade, Armin (Audrey) Gade, Hulda (Dick) Comfort, Elvera (Robert) Eckert, Elaine (Darwin) Prochaska, Donald (Marion) Gade, Raymond (Virginia) Reinders and Donald Olt. Her son-in-law, Bill Beckendorf; nephews Gary Comfort, Darrell Prochaska and Richard Gade, and nieces Ann (Reinders) Bierie and Marilyn (Gade) Bradfield also predeceased her.
Alice is survived by her daughter, Sandra Beckendorf of Fairmont, MN, and three sons, Daniel (Jeannie) of Havelock, David (Kristi) of Mallard, and Mark (Judy) of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. She also is survived by 12 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren. She leaves each of them with special memories of her love, faith and family fun. She also is survived by her sister-in-law, Mary Olt of Dayton, Ohio, 13 nieces and nephews, and many other friends and extended family.
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