Alice Theresa Windholz

Alice Theresa Windholz, 91, passed from this life on Wednesday January 20, 2010 at Hays Medical Center. She stepped out of the physical body one last time in the darkness of the early morning and immediately passed with ease and grace across the borders of this earthly life into the brightness of God's healing love. While her family here tearfully kissed her farewell, she was immediately drawn to the loving, waiting arms of her heavenly family who were overjoyed by her return to them. The gratefulness for Alice's immense love and the countless blessings of having been her children during this lifetime now pours over grieving hearts, healing them in the waters of God's great ocean of love and mercy. Alice was born on September 6, 1918 in Severin, KS, the 5th of 12 children of Frank Walters and Monica (Koerner) Walters. Alice's mother died when she was 13 years of age, and her father later married Rose (Urban) Befort. Their family grew by four more children. Alice attended school through the 8th grade and retained a lifelong love of reading and learning. On September 9, 1942, she married Alfred Windholz, a union of 63 years and one blessed with four children, Jim, Frank, Kenny and Mary Beth. Alice joined the Daughters of Isabella in 1945 and remained a life long member. She worked at the Ellis County Appraiser's Office for 13 years, retiring in 1980. In her retirement, she served as a Red Cross volunteer and a Community Assistance Center volunteer. She was an active lover of sports throughout her life and was a particularly enthusiastic and faithful Fort Hays State Tiger fan. Alice was the very core of her family in every way. For 63 years, she was a wonderful companion to her husband, Alfred. She served God through the magnificence of true maternal love and delighted in her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and her great-great grandchild. She took a loving part in their lives while delighting in and supporting their activities and their accomplishments. She was a lovely and true friend, and all who knew Alice were touched by her ready smile, her warm humor, her beautiful blue-eyed gaze and her unconditional love. Her natural goodness was easily recognizable in her warm, generous, kind manner, in her sparkling eyes and in her hearty laugh. Alice was a humble and deeply compassionate person with a special place in her heart for the downtrodden, the "underdog" and the less fortunate. Her understanding and wisdom made her a natural refuge for the troubled at heart. She countered conflict with soothing love, and she gave her healing love to everyone, accepting others just as they were. She was an eager student of life and of humankind with a wondrous childlike curiosity and a buoyant spirit. With a song always on her lips and gratitude in her huge heart, Alice was a beautiful soul with a dauntless sense of optimist and a gentle love for all life. As she advanced so delightfully in years, her heart remained graceful, youthful and open. Alice was a pure spirit and a source of great inspiration and joy to everyone who had the great fortune to meet her, know her and share her heart. Survivors include her children, Frank Windholz, Arvada, CO and Ken and Jolene Windholz, Hays; her grandchildren and great grandchildren, Grant and Donna Windholz and daughter Lily, Lakewood, CO; Eric and Amanda Windholz, and their children, Anna, Andrew and Bridget Alice, Highlands Ranch, CO; Amy Lawrence and her children, James and Audrey, Parker, CO; Kimberly Windholz, Leavenworth, KS; Kieran and Heather Windholz and their children, Bayleigh and Zakery, Festus, MO; Paxton Windholz, Arvada, CO; Preston Kiekel, Seattle, WA; Brianna Windholz, Arvada, CO; Bryan and Tracy Rupp and their children, Josh Wade, Ambria and Asarya, Houston, TX; Crystal Kiekel, Canoga Park, CA; Ben Karst, Hays; Mark Karst, Ft. Collins, CO; Jon Karst, Ft. Collins, CO; and Clayton Karst, Lawrence, KS; great granddaughter Danielle Windholz and great-great granddaughter, Aiden Victoria Windholz, Docono, CO. Other survivors include her siblings, Marcella Dreiling, Chapman, KS; Ralph Walters, Hays; Rosemary Gerstner, Conyers, GA; Sr. Mary Alice Walters, Cudahy, WI; Ronald and Pam Frazier Walters, Albuquerque, NM; Janet and Jude Gerstner, Overland Park, KS; Robert and Ernestine Befort, Ellis, KS and Leona Fross, Hays. Alice was preceded in death by her husband, Alfred, by her children, James Windholz and Mary Beth Windholz Lind, by her parents, Frank and Monica, by her step-mother, Rose Walters, by her siblings, Cecilia Wolf, Katie Schmidt, Mary Pfeifer, Frances Schmidt, Rita Mae Walters, Wilma Ann Isengard, and Miriam LaVonne Walters, and by her grandchildren, Audrey and Andrew Windholz and Jeffrey Dean Windholz.











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