Obituary of Alice Ladewig

Alice M. Ladewig (nee Deresch), a long-time Waukesha resident, passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 26, 2019, at Arbor View Assisted Living in Pewaukee, WI, at the age of 94.  Alice was born on June 16, 1925, in Antigo, WI, to Walter and Agnes (Murawski) Deresch.  She grew up on the family farm during the Depression, where she walked a mile-and-a-half to a one-room country school and did her homework at night by kerosene lamp.  After she graduated from Antigo High School in 1943, she and her family moved to Waukesha.  Alice was particularly close to her sisters, Victoria and Dorothy, and all three lived less than a mile from one another for much of their adult lives.  With her former husband, Glenn ("Pat") Ladewig, she was mother to Jim and Jill.

Alice loved birds, which she watched out her backyard picture window on Lemira Ave., and later in life she was an avid card and bingo player and jigsaw puzzle master.  Alice worked extremely hard throughout her life.  From age 70 to nearly 82, she was a treasured waitress at the George Webb restaurant on Delafield Ave. in Waukesha, where she loved waiting on her customers.  Alice appeared on a Webb advertising poster holding a $4.99 grilled chicken sandwich platter, and she was featured on radio ads as one of the "George Webb Angels."  As a young woman at the end of World War II, she worked at the lunch counter in the Walgreens on the Five Points, and later in life at Arlan's department store, GTE Automatic Electric, the Giving Tree gift store, and The Cafe on Delafield Ave.  She took so much pride in caring for her house, that when she finally sold it at age 83 the realtor said she had the cleanest basement he had ever seen. 

Alice is survived by her daughter, Jill (Chad) Schlei, and son James (Jane Bernstein) Ladewig; grandchildren Matthew (Alison) Schlei, Andrew (Melissa) Schlei, and Lily (Evan Strang) Ladewig; and great-grandchildren Dominic, Chad, Madalyn, and Raelyn Schlei, and Sadie Strang; and many other family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her sisters Victoria Sancomb and Dorothy Durant, her brother Frank Deresch, and her parents.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, November 16, 2019, from 10:00AM until 12:00Noon with a brief service immediately following at 12:00Noon at Cesarz, Charapata & Zinnecker Funeral Home, 237 N Moreland Blvd, Waukesha, WI 53188.  A private burial will be held separately for family at Saint Joseph Cemetery.

Alice's family wishes to thank her wonderful friends John and Mary Almasi, the Caring Place adult day care center for their kindness, UWM Speech and Language Clinic, Allay Hospice, and the staff of Arbor View Assisted Living for the love and care that they gave to her.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Caring Place, 810 N East Ave, Waukesha, WI 53186, in her memory would be appreciated.