May 17, 1935 – January 7, 2026
Obituary for Alice Marion (née Dahle) Naumann
May 17, 1935 – January 7, 2026
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
Alice Marion Dahle was born on May 17, 1935, in Albert Lea, Minnesota, to Elmer and Margaret Dahle. Her life began in the quiet steadiness of Norwegian farming families who knew the goodness of daily work and the faithfulness of God’s promises. From the beginning, the Lord’s hand was upon her—forming a woman who would be known for her strength, love, and an uncomplaining optimism that warmed the lives of those around her.
“He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16)
On June 9, 1935, Alice was baptized at Lime Creek Evangelical Lutheran Church of rural Lake Mills, Iowa. There, at the font, the Lord placed His name upon her and joined her to Christ’s death and resurrection. The promises of God were not merely words spoken over a child; they became the sure foundation of her life. In that sacred washing, Alice received what the Church confesses with joy: forgiveness, life, and salvation in Jesus. Her baptism was not simply a family milestone, but the beginning of a lifelong belonging—marked, claimed, and kept by the mercy of God.
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
With her parents and her older brother, Paul, Alice grew up in a wholesome Christian family on a dairy farm just across the Iowa state line south of Emmons, Minnesota. Her early Christian education was at Lime Creek Lutheran School, followed by high school in Emmons and college at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota. She supplemented her education with professional training as a medical technologist at Mankato State Teacher’s College and Swedish Hospital in Minneapolis—an education that would later provide both a practical support for her family and an additional way to serve her neighbor.
“Two are better than one… For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10)
It was in Mankato that Alice met her future husband, Bertram Naumann, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who was studying for the pastoral ministry at Bethany. Their shared life would become a long and faithful pilgrimage, shaped by the Word of God, the work of the Church, and the ordinary demands of family life. Following Bert’s graduation from seminary, the two were joined in holy matrimony on June 15, 1957, at Lime Creek Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Alice accompanied her husband to successive parishes: Calvary Lutheran Church of Marquette, Michigan (1957–1965), Messiah Lutheran Church of Hales Corners, Wisconsin (1965–1973), and Redemption Lutheran Church of Lynnwood, Washington (1973–2000). Along the way, the Lord blessed them with eight children. Alice’s vocation was rich and demanding as a pastor’s wife, and mother to eight children. Yet she also worked almost continually as a medical technologist, faithfully helping to supplement the family’s income. Alice was a serious, respected professional in her field. It was in this capacity that many would later remember her—not only for her whip-smart intelligence, but especially for the compassion she showed toward the thousands of patients with whom she came into contact. This was a skill she kept to the end, by the way, always asking her son to read her her own lab test results, and patiently explaining to him what they meant.
“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad.” (Psalm 126:3)
After Bert’s retirement from the public ministry in 2000, he and Alice enjoyed nine years of retirement together in a charming duplex in Puyallup, Washington. They delighted in music, television, and cultural events, and they traveled extensively together across the United States. Those years were marked by the happiness of companionship—shared interests, familiar routines, and the contentment that comes when, by God’s grace, a long season of labor gives way to a season of rest. Alice would frequently echo her husband’s summing up of their life together—“It’s all grace!”
“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord… that they may rest from their labors.” (Revelation 14:13)
The couple was divided by death when Bert answered his upward call on October 7, 2009. After his death, Alice remained in her home in Puyallup until May of 2021, when she fell ill with pneumonia while attending a graduation service in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Following her recovery, she decided to make her home in Eau Claire, living with her son Paul and his wife Carol for two years before moving into assisted living at Heritage at Oakwood Hills. For the past year she was cared for by the good people at Dove Healthcare in Osseo, Wisconsin.
After a brief hospitalization in early January, 2026, Alice was placed on hospice care and returned to Dove on January 6. That afternoon and evening she displayed her usual cheerful and upbeat manner as family members gathered at her bedside to sing hymns and read words of comfort from Holy Scripture. Sometime in the early hours of January 7 she fell peacefully asleep in Jesus—resting at last in the promises that had carried her from the font in infancy through every chapter of her long life.
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)
Alice was preceded in death by her parents, Elmer and Margaret Dahle; her brother Paul; her daughter-in-law Desirae; and her granddaughter Jesse. Still in their time of grace are her children: Paul Naumann (Carol) of Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Ann Radcliffe (Scott) of Puyallup, Washington; David Naumann (Christy) of Clarkston, Washington; Bruce Naumann (Paula) of Arusha, Tanzania; Gail Richardson (Allen) of Everett, Washington; Thomas Naumann (Jennifer) of Snohomish, Washington; James Naumann (Sheila) of Jamestown, North Dakota; and Steven Naumann (Eve-Lynn) of Eau Claire—along with nephews and nieces, thirty-one grandchildren, and twenty-eight great-grandchildren.
Alice’s memorial service will take place at Messiah Lutheran Church in Eau Claire on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Visitation will be at the church from 11:00-12:45, with the funeral at 1:00 p.m. A lunch will be served in the church fellowship hall following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Student Aid Fund of Immanuel Lutheran College. Cards may be sent c/o Prof. Paul Naumann, 3732 Claymore Ln, Eau Claire WI 54701.
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