A Tribute to Alice Masshardt

Alice married her High School sweetheart right after graduation. In addition to raising four children, Alice has 9 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren, all of whom she spoiled and loved to share time with.

She worked for the State of Wisconsin for 27 years, running the Word Processing Center. She was a “techie” before there were “techies.” Not content to just retire she went back to work at East Town mall in the Customer Service area and then later worked in the Mall Office. Once again she was on the cutting edge of technology, rolling out the gift card program for the Mall. It was kind of fun to talk about what she was doing with her gift card program compared to us at M&I. She was always one step ahead of us and we would constantly compare note and see whose sales were better each week.

In her spare time she used to like to knit, cross stitch, needlepoint and crochet. There are not many relatives that Mom did not knit hats or mittens for or crochet an afghan or create some cross stitch project. Those of us who have these items will forever treasure them.

Family was important to Mom and Christmas was her favorite holiday. The upstairs bedroom would begin to fill in September and by early December would be overflowing. Wrapping would take days not hours and it was always a challenge to keep everything straight. Every year someone always got a gift that was intended for someone else. Easy to do when you have a room filled with gifts. This was her time to give and she always made sure that the kids and grandkids got what they wanted.

Except of course that year I wanted a drum set and instead I got a note from Santa saying they ran out, so how about a Nancy Sinatra record instead. As I look back on it as a parent now, what a wise choice Santa made. Mom would always ask all of us for a list of want we wanted. The list was meant to be a guide, ideas, so she could choose a few, but not Mom. For her it was a checklist. You were almost certain to get whatever you had on the list. And if you told her you didn't need anything, well you could expect underwear and socks, because everyone needs those.

Going the extra mile and doing just a little more was also a trademark of hers. She used to make fresh bread from scratch and was always sewing something for the girls. When I wanted to be a foreign exchange student in High School, she stashed away money from her paycheck every week so that they could afford to send me. Little did I realize at the time the sacrifice she made. That was just the way she was, very giving to others.

She was queen of one liners and quick comebacks. We used to constantly rib each other and she usually ended up getting the better of me. She was also not afraid to give orders, in fact, in June she coordinated Megan’s graduation party when it had to be moved to our house instead of a park because of the rain. Giving orders not only to us but also to another family she had never met before. She knew how to get things done. She was a born leader.

When Dad was alive, they did everything together. When he died a part of Mom went with him. It was a difficult time for her but she got through it in no small part because of the job she had at East Town Mall in the office. That job helped keep her going everyday and the people she came into contact with made each day better. Mom will forever hold a special place in her heart for her boss Tammy. Tammy was there for her when Dad died and was also there for her all through her illness. Mom always perked up when Miss Tammy came in to visit.

After she sold the family house, she moved into an apartment complex designed for those 50+. She was still working at East Town at the time and missed out on many of the activities at the complex, so the time came to tell Tammy that she wanted to retire from East Town. But not before she was nominated for National Employee of the Year for CBL Properties. Quiet an honor for someone who was only a part-time employee, but it spoke volumes about her work ethic.

Now that she was retired, she needed something to do, so, in addition to coffee and Happy Hour with her neighbors it was time to travel. Off to Europe with Carrie and Bridget to visit Cassandra. A few weeks later it was off to New York City with Margie, Megan and me to tour the city and see Pirate Queen and Spamalot on Broadway. Then it was off to Raleigh to visit with my sister Carrie and her family and go whitewater rafting.

Then in June she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Leukemia. She was never really the same after that. She lost her appetite, lost an incredible amount of weight and as a result had less and less energy to do things.

While her body may have failed, her mind never did. She maintained her great sense of humor to the end. Whether you knew her your entire life or met just in the last couple of months, Alice was someone who could relate well to people. She had a great disposition and could strike up a conversation with anyone. As a testament to that many of the employees at the Waunakee Manor made it a point to stop in during her final days to check on her, wish her well and to let her know they were praying for her.

I can not help but use the same advice on all of us that I used on Mom when my Dad passed away. While the memories you have of our Mother may bring tears of sadness today, God will replace those, with tears of joy in the coming weeks and big huge smiles in the months ahead. Please know that the void in our heart today will be filled the more we share her memories.