Obit: Gearing, Alice Loraine (1924 - 2017)
Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail:
dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Gearing, Will, Johnston, Burrows, Risch, Glynn, Zielke, Durost, Dahl,
Morrison, Nicholas, Spicer, Wessel, Jones
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 8/09/2017
Gearing, Alice Loraine (21 March 1924 – 2 August 2017)
Alice L. Gearing, 93, of Sunset Gardens Assisted Living in Neillsville, formerly
of Humbird and Fairchild, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017, at Neillsville
Memorial Medical Center.
Alice Loraine Johnston Gearing was born March 21, 1924, on a farm near
Merrillan, the fourth out of eight children born to Frank and Lydia (Will)
Johnston. Alice lived near Merrillan until the age of three, when the family
moved to Neillsville. It was there that her father passed away in 1929, when
Alice was almost five years old. The family then moved to Fairchild to live near
her mother’s parents, Susan and Henry Will. While still in high school, she
worked part-time at the telephone office, and after graduation she worked at the
Eau Claire Ordnance Plant. A favorite place for everyone to go Saturday nights
to dance was the Silver Dome east of Fairchild. Here is where Alice met Gordon
Gearing from Alma Center. They were married Sept. 28, 1946. In 1952, they had
the opportunity to purchase a gas station in Humbird, where they raised their
four children (Julie, Jean, Gwen, and Scott).
Alice was a busy homemaker, bringing up the children, and keeping books for
Gordy’s business. Gordy passed away in May 1969. She then took a job with the
public-school system as a teacher’s aide and also substituted at the post office
in Merrillan. This led to a job at the mail distribution center in Eau Claire,
where upon a vacancy became open for the postmaster’s position at the Humbird
office, whereby she was hired. She held this position until retiring in 1985.
Alice remarried in 1977-85 to Harold Burrows of Fairchild. Following the end of
marriage, Alice remained living in Fairchild until her move to Neillsville in
December 2010. Alice loved traveling, and had traveled to Germany when her
daughter Julie and family were stationed there. She had also visited Hawaii, and
most of the western and southern states. She also loved reading, singing,
working crossword and jigsaw puzzles, and walking.
It was important to her to give back to her community, and she did so by serving
on the Alma Center-Humbird-Merrillan School Board, as secretary of the Fairchild
Alumni Association, with the Fairchild Nursing Home Auxiliary, A.A.R.P. Chapter,
and Homemaker’s Club. She was instrumental in keeping the Mastin Center open,
allowing gatherings and meetings to be held there. While residing in Humbird,
Alice was a very active member of the United Methodist Church for many years.
Alice will be dearly missed by her three daughters, Julie (Chuck) Risch of
Merrillan, Jean (Don) Glynn of Eau Claire, and Gwen (Curt) Zielke of Wonewoc;
son Scott (Jennifer) Gearing of Alma Center; three brothers, Meredith Johnston
of Line Lexington, PA, Lester Johnston of Alpine, CA, and Frank (Eunice)
Johnston of Eau Claire; sister Lila Durost of Eau Claire; brother-in-law Otis
Dahl of Eau Claire; sisters-in-law, Sonna Johnston of Kerrville, TX, Pat Gearing
of Neillsville, and Lucille Gearing of Phoenix, AZ; 12 grandchildren, Rob
(Stephanie) Risch, Eric Risch, Paul Risch, Doug Risch, Colin (Ashley) Morrison,
Megan (Corey) Nicholas, Renee (Seth) Spicer, Rebecca (Aaron) Wessel, David
(Stacy) Zielke, Whitney Gearing, Zach Gearing, and Hailee Gearing; 16
great-grandchildren; several nieces, nephews, and other relatives.
In addition to her husband Gordy, she was also preceded in death by siblings
Mabel Jones, Zelma Dahl, and Henry Johnston.
A visitation was held Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the
Anderson Funeral Home in Augusta, and will be held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Wednesday at the Living Hope Evangelical Free Church in Neillsville. Services
will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the church, with burial in the Mentor
Cemetery in Humbird.
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