In Loving Memory
Alice Jo Wittig
February 2, 1929 – January 26, 2024
Virtual Memorial Gathering
Saturday, April 6, 2024
11:00 AM Pacific Time
Watch a recording of the live stream
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Alice Jo Wittig Obituary
One week before her 95th birthday, Alice Wittig’s long and creative life came to a close. She died on January 26, 2024, in Duluth, Minnesota.
Alice Josephine (known by many as Alice Jo) Smith was born to Chauncey and Emma (Falter) Smith in Lincoln, Nebraska on February 2, 1929. She grew up in Lincoln then moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to earn her teaching degree. She married James W. Gardner Jr. and served with him in Europe in the mid-1950s with the World Council of Churches. They had a son, Rob, while working in Geneva, Switzerland. She earned her Master’s in Library Science in Denver, and married her second husband Donald Wittig there. Their daughter, Amy, was born while they lived in Los Altos Hills, California. In 1970, Alice and Don moved the family north to Mendocino County, to join the trend of city dwellers heading into rural areas to try their hand at “homesteading”. Alice’s love of books and children led her first to volunteer, then to gradually take on the entire Mendocino Unified School District’s library system in 1978. She oversaw the management of books and multimedia resources at five sites and introduced the “World Wide Web” to the students in the early ‘90s. In her spare time, she produced and hosted a long-running radio program called Story Hour as well as a local cable TV program called Under the Reading Rainbow (before LeVar Burton ever began reading stories on a show with a VERY similar name). In the late ‘90s, Alice reunited with her high school sweetheart, James Weldon. She retired and they married and settled in Anchorage, Alaska. In 2017 they relocated to Duluth, Minnesota to live near her son, Rob, who saw that their every need was met. Jim passed away in 2021. Alice remained sharp, witty, creative, and caring to the end of her days. Among her many creative outlets (including cartooning, sewing, costume creation and writing), Alice was a puppeteer. She performed with puppets for audiences of all ages and inspired creativity in a myriad of ways in the people she met and interacted with throughout her life.
Alice is survived by her son, Rob (Joellyn Rock) Wittig (step-grandson JJ Sivak) and daughter, Amy (Duncan) McClish (granddaughters Heather [great-grandson Levi] Yi, April [Joseph] Davenport, Claire McClish and Maria [Hans] Bunyi). She is also survived by Jim’s children, Flash, John and Libby and their progeny. Alice was preceded in death by her parents and her two older brothers, Richard, and Roger Smith.
It is our hope that those who gather to remember Alice’s life will bring and share a token or representation of something she taught or meant to them (such as a book, a puppet, a memory, or a writing). To leave more enriched and inspired than when we came would be just what Alice would have desired!
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Such a wonderful person. Alice made all the new teachers at MHS feel welcomed into the community. I will always remember her keen sense of humor, her fabulous dinner parties, and reading for her on Story Hour.
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Rob was my daily playmate in Los Altos Hills from 2nd thru 9th grade. In Mendocicno, the Wittigs were a frequent destination. Alice always remembered our youthful attempts at skits which we presented to her, to be followed by slamming the bedroom door to work up another, accompanied by gales of laughter. Every time, Alice listened attentively, applauded and encouraged us.
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As a long-time friend of Alice’s husband Jim, I was grateful to be invited to Alice’s memorial via Zoom. I never got a chance to meet Alice and it was such a pleasure to get to know her at least a little bit by way of her family and friends. I can very much see why Jim loved Alice so much (as he told me many times). She was obviously a wonderfully creative and fun person, and I would definitely have enjoyed her had I known her in person. I think one can also tell something about a person by the people they surround themselves with, and Alice’s family and friends (those who participated in her beautiful memorial service) also impressed me with their “wonderfulness”, so it was a pleasure to sort of meet them, too. May Alice and Jim both rest in peace.
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I had the absolute privilege to get know Alice by way of Jim and the Anchorage Concert Chorus. We discovered that we shared the same birthday and celebrated many times while they were living in Anchorage . We had many lovely and lively conversations on many topics. Over time we got to know and appreciate each other very much! I’m so sad I missed her service and send my love and hugs to Rob and Amy!
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Alice was such a kind and gentle person. I have such fond memories of being at her house and riding around in her blue vw bug when I was able to go to stay with Amy. She was so supportive of our 4-H efforts and our presentation “Mud between your Toes” which Amy and I put together. Growing up in Mendocino was special and Alice and Amy are both part of those memories.
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Aunt Alice Jo was a tender hearted woman as was her mother, Ema Falter Smith. Her smile was the greatest thing I remember most about her. She was creative, kind and generous. When Christmas came around those apricots she harvested and dried, were the absolutely the best I’ve ever eaten. She is missed. !
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Jerry and I met the Wittigs when they moved to Mendocino, just down the street from us. My last memory of her was hearing she climbed on the back of a motorcycle and rode off to Alaska. What a sense of adventure. I was so impressed. And I remember her big smile. Rest in peace, joyous lady.
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Alice worked in the Mendocino high school library when I was in high school. She was also friends with my mom. She was always deeply kind and encouraging — a gentle, warm person. She also seemed strong and true. It makes me happy to read of her full life beyond Mendocino.
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Aunt Alice Jo was the sweetest and kindest of people. She must have been much like our Grandmother, Ema Falter Smith. Aunt Alice had the biggest smile and it showed, not just on her face but through her actions and attention when we had the opportunity to visit with her. One of the biggest memories I had of her were the boxes of Christmas dried apricots she sent our family. She picked and dried them herself. They were greatly appreciated and enjoyed. That is where I got the joy of giving something homemade/handmade. Her smile and kindness is what I’ll always treasure and remember. Thank you for this opportunity to share my love and memories of a wonderful woman I knew as Aunt Alice Jo.
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I met Alice in Anchorage, Alaska when we registered for an autobiography writing class and shared our stories in a small group. Our group stayed together for seven years reading our one page works and enjoying coffee and treats at each other’s homes. I love and miss Alice.
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Alice is my second mother, the mother of my best friend growing up. I have a picture of Alice holding my infant son, Glen, that I’d like to share if possible. May I email it somewhere? Many trips were made after school to her home at 25391 O’keefe Lane. My visits always began with “Mrs. Wittig, may I use your phone to call my mom?” Alice served me many dinners with her family. She was a role model–so gentle and modest.
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Alice was not only a shining star as a librarian she was a teacher in her own right, always willing to impart a lesson – whether it was assistance with art, reading or just kind words of wisdom – she did whatever she could to help kids on their way. She was a positive force for my entire youth and in the thousands of days that I saw her from K-12, I don’t think there was a single one of them that she didn’t great me – or the other students – with a smile.
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Alice, to put it simply, was a Superstar. We were so fortunate know and work with her.
She brought out the best in everyone around her. I learned so much from her.
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Alice was a wonderful mentor and friend. She fiercely defended the role of libraries in the school system and pushed for more hours of service. She was friendly and loving and funny. It was fun to read on her radio show. She was special and well loved on the Mendocino Cioast.
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Alice was an amazing and inspiring person. She was always kind and very creative, sharing books and puppets with our family as she remembered us at birthdays and Christmases. I remember her every single time I drive past her old house across the road. She is really missed in our neighborhood, but remains in our hearts.
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Alice was kind to me, my wife, and our children. I am grateful for that. May she rest in peace.