Alice (Nikolaus) Minster Obituary (1931

Alice Minster Born: Nov 10, 1931 Died: Feb 20, 2017 Alice Minster, 85, a longtime resident of Oregon City passed away on Feb 20, 2017 in her home. Alice was born Nov 10, 1931 in Three Hills, Alberta, Canada. She was the third of 3 children of George and Sophie Nikolaus. She grew up and completed school in Three Hills, a small town surrounded by farmlands on the high plains of southern Alberta. Alice's father owed a car and tractor dealership and as a young girl, although she was very much the young lady, she could be found helping her father put together some of the machinery especially when her small hands were better suited for the job. As she grew older, she was a member of a competitive on a Curling Team. After completing school, Alice's first job was at the small grocery store in Three Hills. She loved working there and greeting all the local friends, relatives and other people that she had grown up with. In 1955 she met Ed, the love of her life. She had traveled to Missoula Montana with her soon to be sister in law Lou, to attend her brother's engagement party. Her two brothers, Gordon and Elmer, owned a gas station in Missoula and had invited all their friends, as well as a few favorite customers to attend the party. Ed was one of those favorite customers. She spotted Ed at the party and couldn't stop looking at him, handsome young man that he was. They finally started talking and before long they were spending a lot of time together. They were married in beautiful ceremony at the Presbyterian Church in Missoula, Montana, on April 14, 1956 and honeymooned along the Pacific coast of Oregon and California, as well as other parts of the western states. A few years later, they settled in Oregon City and have lived in the area ever since. Alice went to work as a checker for Danielson's in old downtown Oregon City and she stayed there for 34 years. Everyone knew Alice with her cheerful laugh and a little of the local news. People would wait in her line, even when it was the longest line, because they didn't want anyone but Alice to check them out. Some of those customers even became good friends. In her private life, Alice liked people and made numerous friends from every part of her life. From work, neighbors, relatives and people she met on trips. She had a flair for decorating and her home was always meticulously clean, and very inviting and she loved to entertain in her home and outdoors on the patio surrounded by her beautiful and well-kept yard. She and Ed would have guests over for dinner every week and often times house guests from many different parts of the country. Over the years, Alice enjoyed many hobbies and pastimes. She was on a bowling team for several years. She enjoyed gardening and always had a large flower garden with many varieties that she would cut and arrange in vases in her home. She liked fishing in lakes or rivers and even the ocean. She liked to crochet and has made numerous baby blankets for all the babies of family and friends. Volunteering was important to Alice. She volunteered at the front desk at Willamette Falls Hospital for 14 years. She also volunteered for the Bunk Bed Ministry, which helped supply beds for children of needy families. She crocheted countless hats for the newborn babies at the hospital, as well as hats and blankets for cancer patients. There were several pets over the years, but her all-time favorites were Mr. Bodine and Pusser the tom-cat. Mr. Bodine, a Pekinese/Pomeranian/toy terrier mix, who was very well trained and a darling companion, lived to be 18 years old. Pusser was constantly in some sort of trouble, mostly brawling with other cats, and had many trips to the kitty hospital, but managed to live to be 12 years old. Travel was a big part of Alice's life along with Ed. From the time they were married, every year, she and Ed faithfully "went up home" to visit both sets of parents, hers in Three Hills and his in Missoula. While there, they would always have something that needed tending to, whether it was remodeling a basement, putting in a new septic system or who knows what. After that, Alice and Ed enjoyed many other types of travel. From camping to cruises, they did it all. There were many camping trips with family and friends to the Oregon coast, Mt Hood, and many other places. She loved to take the Amtrak train to Seattle for the weekend and invited friends along many times. Growing up in a bitterly cold part of the world, Alice loved a warm and sunny vacation. They flew or drove to Arizona, New Mexico and other sunny places numerous times. Her all-time favorite vacations were to Hawaii and Caribbean Cruises with her dear husband Ed. They traveled many times to both and either took friends along with them, or made new friends along the way. Alice was preceded in death by her parents and her two brothers Gordon and Elmer. She is survived by her loving husband Ed, sister in law; Lou Nikolaus, nieces and nephews; Jim (and Renae) Nikolaus, Karen (and Rob) Schmidlin, Cathie(and Doug) Gossard, MaryAnn (and Jack) Biechler of Spokane, WA and others. Great nieces and nephews; Rachel and Bryan Nikolaus, Victoria and Elizabeth Schmidlin, and several others. A memorial service will be held at 11AM on Saturday, March 11, 2017 at Prince of Life Lutheran Church at 13896 S Meyers Rd, Oregon City. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made in Alice's name to Prince of Life Lutheran Church (Oregon City) Memorial Fund.