Alice Marie Anderson

Alice Marie Anderson, age 86 of Appleton, WI passed away peacefully on February 19, 2026, surrounded by family after living courageously with Alzheimer’s disease and ultimately succumbing to B-cell lymphoma. She was born to Carl and Grace (Morstad) Anderson on February 5, 1940, in Leeds, ND.

Alice’s calling was that of service. She learned early about lifelong care for others from her mother and reciprocated that care in Grace’s later years, along with caring for her family as a wife and mother of four children. She chose nursing as a career, earning a B.S. at Montana State University and taking further masters-level classes in Salt Lake City, UT to practice as a RN. She then taught nursing at Framingham Union Hospital, sharing her love of care with new generations, participated in clinical research at Kimberly Clark Corporation, and later taught Montessori school to young children. She was an active member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, and participated in many groups by volunteering, leading, and mentoring, including: WELCA, PEO, Sons of Norway, and the Emergency Shelter of Appleton. She included her children in devotion and faith at the Lutheran Church of Framingham, MA (12 years), and for the remainder of her life was devoted to service at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church of Appleton (40+ years). She loved nurturing everyone in her circle with extravagant food and catering. All these activities demonstrated a love of caring for others, a love of life’s bounty, and a love of God and celebrating with those close to her.

Alice loved researching and learning about her heritage through genealogy libraries and was an active member of Sons of Norway. Through this organization, she was able to connect her passion for food and baking with her heritage in new and fun ways. Her family and friends continue to treasure the recipes she helped collect. She traveled to Norway to visit ancestral homelands, and she instilled in her children both a love of travel and of learning about diverse cultures (and food). Traveling to spend time with extended family was especially important to her, shown by annual road trips to North Dakota and Montana. Through participation in many organizations, she supported scholarships and travel opportunities for others to expand their worlds.

Alice also had a true passion for music throughout all her many years. She developed that passion at a young age, performing clarinet and singing in choirs and solo events. She nurtured that love of music in her children, inspiring them at an early age and encouraging them to pursue singing, chorus, and playing instruments. She performed often with her church choir and bell choir, helping to grow and maintain a strong music program for all ages at Prince of Peace. As a regular cantor, she was often asked to sing at weddings, funerals, and other major life events. In her last years, she joined On a Positive Note choir, continuing to bring the delight of music to people through performance. Nothing could get in the way of her experiencing the joy she felt, and of her being in the place where she felt she mattered most in the world: that of singing and music.

Alice was, above all else, devoted to her family and friends at all ages of her life. She cherished every moment she could spend with her kids and grandkids. Alice is predeceased by her parents, Carl and Grace Anderson, and her brothers, Gerald (Millie) and Wayne. She will be missed deeply by those she has left behind: her husband of 63 years, Gary C. Anderson of Appleton; children Mike Anderson (Sue) of Watertown, WI, Kathy Anderson (Neal Reed) of Fredericksburg, VA, Emily Anderson (David Miller) of Arvada, CO, and Amy DeBay (Dennis) of Lafayette, CO; grandchildren Becca, Baxter, and Addy; and many extended family and friends.

For the last several decades, Alice joined organizations which further individual health. The first was a national organization, the Women’s Health Initiative. Through this study she became aware of Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention. Participation in WRAP provided an opportunity for Alice to provide much needed research on Alzheimer’s disease in her life and to continue to care for people through research even after her passing through organ tissue donation.

Alice’s family would like to extend a special thanks to the many Home Instead caregivers; her hospice nursing team with Compassus; the Cancer Center at Ascension NE Wisconsin - St. Elizabeth Hospital; and Annie Meulemans of Thrive Music Therapy and the Fox Valley Memory Project singing group, On a Positive Note.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 24, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 2330 E Calumet St, Appleton, WI 54915 at 11:00 am. There will be a visitation starting at 9:00 am prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Association or the Fox Valley Memory Project using the links below. Or, if you'd prefer, please donate to a charity of your choice in honor of Alice.

Donate to the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Association: https://www.alz.org/wi 

Donate to the Fox Valley Memory Project: https://www.foxvalleymemoryproject.org/