Alice Wiggins

Alice Nantz Wiggins, 90, passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 8, 2011, at the Willow Point Assisted Living Facility in Verona, Wisconsin.

Alice was born on July 28, 1921 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Frank Nantz and Lora Love Nantz.

When Alice was 3, her father Frank, a research chemist, died while on an expedition in Haiti in 1924. Frank's family provided care and assistance to Alice, her older brother Frank Jr., and her mother Lora during the difficult depression years that followed. Alice graduated from the University of Cincinnati, and worked for Proctor and Gamble, traveling the country conducting market research.

She met and married Jim Wiggins in 1947 and returned to school to get a degree in education. Jim was an aeronautical project engineer, and together they moved around the country, following the big aerospace projects of the cold war. They lived in Ohio, Colorado, Louisiana and Florida, Jim helping to design airplanes and rockets, Alice always finding a job as a teacher, and then as a reading specialist. They settled in Kirkland, Washington in 1970, where Alice was a reading specialist for the Bellevue School District until her retirement in 1988. An avid reader, she was a gentle and sweet person who still enjoyed a good discussion on current events. A Democrat and union supporter all her life, Alice enjoyed many vigorous political discussions with those of contrary views, including her husband Jim. In her retirement, Alice enjoyed the friendships that she made at the Kirkland Community Senior Center. Alice and Jim moved to Madison in 2000 to be closer to their family.

She is survived by her daughter, Dr. Lora Wiggins, M.D., son-in-law Mark Blumenfeld, and grandchildren Allison, Andrew and Rachael Blumenfeld. She was preceded in death by her husband Jim, and her son Jim, who died in 1994.

The family would like to thank the caregivers at Willow Point and Hospice Care, Inc. for their kindness and help. A memorial service will be held on November 27, 2011 at the Madison Shambhala Center. Donations in her memory can be made to Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, P.O. Box 8983, Madison, WI 53708 or online at www.secondharvestmadison.org .