WALL, Alice Dorothy (née Dohms)

February 7, 1926 — August 4, 2023

Alice passed away peacefully on August 4, 2023, at the age of 97, in Kelowna, BC.  She was predeceased by her husband of 54 years, Carl Wall; her parents John, and Mathilda; and her 13 siblings: Emily, Bertha, William, Mary, Flora, Ralph, Robert, Carl, Edith, Lottie, Lena, Elmer, and Harvey.  Alice is survived by her four children: Kevin (Suzanne), Kurt (Jennifer), Todd (Stephanie), and Leanne (Alison); eight grandchildren: Lisa (Jason), Sarah (Attila), Brad (Brittany), Amy (Chris), Rachel (Trevor), Lilliana, Grayson, and Liam; and eleven great-grandchildren: Beckett, Parker, Niyla, Isaak, Noelle, Kaylyn, Lincoln, Madden, Alia, Ashlyn, and Evie.  She is also survived by many extended family members and friends, including Kathy (Simon), and many cousins, nieces, and nephews that she loved dearly and spoke of so fondly.

Alice Dorothy Dohms was born February 7, 1926, in Fenwood, SK.  She was the 12th of 14 children born to John and Mathilda Dohms (née Fritzke).  She grew up in a large, beautiful house; her parents were mixed farmers, growing many crops and raising a variety of livestock, and they always had a large and plentiful vegetable garden.  Everyone helped with the harvesting, milking, gardening/canning, and all the other daily farming chores followed by afternoon lunches for all the workers. Those lunches included sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, and her mother’s famous apple pie.

Church was a focal point in Alice’s early life and remained so until her passing.  Music was also a large part of Alice’s life, she sang and played ten different instruments.  At the age of 13 she became the pianist (self-taught) for the Fenwood Baptist Church.  She went on to play for a local radio station in Saskatoon, SK prior to moving to Vancouver, BC.  Throughout her playing days, she was often asked to play as a guest at churches throughout the region in both SK and BC.

In 1948, at the age of 22, she graduated from the Alliance Bible College in Regina, SK.  After graduating, she got a job at International Harvester Company (IHC) in Yorkton, SK as an office clerk.  In December 1955, she was transferred to IHC in Vancouver and drove there during a blizzard, by herself, in her first car – a 1948 fluid drive Desoto she inherited from her father.  Throughout her career she worked for various companies such as Finning, Microtel, Rivtow, and Elgin Medical, while teaching music and leading choirs.

Alice and Carl were originally introduced in July 1955, at the Alliance Church in Saskatoon, where she was the pianist and the scorekeeper for the church ball team that Carl happened to play on.  In her memoirs, she wrote that he was a very good player, pitching batting, and fielding!  And, he apparently admired her piano playing and would go to the services just to hear her play.  Then, unbeknownst to either of them, each moved out to the West Coast later that year.  Then (perhaps intentionally), they crossed paths once again at an evening church service in Vancouver, and Alice wrote “something clicked” and their courtship began. On a Labour Day weekend trip to Seattle, Carl proposed, and they were married in the Christian Missionary Alliance Church in Vancouver on December 14, 1956.  Their honeymoon took place over the Christmas holidays that year and was spent travelling to SK to meet (and be warmly and lovingly greeted by) both of their respective families as husband and wife!

Shortly after marrying, they moved from Richmond to a brand-new neighbourhood on Mary Hill in Port Coquitlam, BC, where they took much joy in raising their four children before ultimately retiring to Salmon Arm, BC.  They took great pride that their children finished their education and were each successful in their lives.  During this time, the favourite pastimes always included extended family – birthdays, Christmas, sporting events, and other celebrations, where much-loved foods were enjoyed by all – garden soup, beet borscht, dumpling soup and Carl’s birthday dinner of perogies, cabbage rolls, and sausage.  There were always blueberry and apple pies involved!

Once the grandchildren arrived, Alice and Carl cherished spending as much time as possible with them, having endless hours of fun and sleepovers with lots of games and laughter.  “Game Grandma” never missed a chance to change the rules mid-game or teach the kids a trick or two!  And, to pass on some favourite food recipes that the grandchildren still cook today.

In her final days, Alice was lovingly surrounded by her children, many of her grandchildren, and some dear extended family and friends; she spoke of the spiritual peace she felt and the joy she would experience in reuniting with Carl, and all those she loved that predeceased her.  She will forever be remembered as a devoted daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and great-grandmother.  She was a thoughtful and loving family person of faith, wit, and integrity who has reached her final destination… at rest with her Lord.

The family would also like to extend special thanks and gratitude to the staff at Cottonwoods Short Stay for their compassionate, tireless, and kind efforts during Alice’s final days there.

A Graveside Service will be held on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2023,  1:00 PM, at MOUNT IDA CEMETERY (2290 Foothill Road SW, Salmon Arm, BC), with a reception to follow.

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