Alice Loew

MADISON - Alice Loew, 100, consummate planner, fixer, punster, and possessor of an extraordinary life, entered the spirit world on May 21, 2024.

Alice was born Alicia Margarite DeNomie on the Keweenaw Bay Reservation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Like her father, she was a citizen of Mashkiiziibii, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. The third of six children born to Ed (Simon) DeNomie and Sally Neville, she lived most of her young life near Merrill Park on Milwaukee’s near north side. Alice was a “brainy” child, graduating from West Division High School at age 16 and working three jobs so that she could attend art school.

Alice dreamed of becoming a dress designer for Vogue, but when World War II broke out, her design talents were tapped by the Perfex Corporation and she joined the blueprint team that worked on the Norden Bombsight, an instrument used for precision bombing in aerial attacks by the U.S. Army Air Corps.  She wrote frequent letters to her future husband, Marvin Loew, who was in the U.S. Navy, serving on a destroyer escort in the Pacific. She was astounded by his presumptuousness when he sent her a diamond engagement ring-mostly because he’d never actually asked her to marry him.  She put the ring in a drawer, but began wearing it after his ship was briefly lost at sea. When he returned, they married and for a short time moved in with Marvin’s parents. After their first son, Michael was born, they moved to temporary housing, hastily created for returning servicemen and their families, before moving to the Parklawn housing project.

Alice was the neighborhood’s favorite mom.  She painted old bedsheets with castle motifs and strung them over backyard clotheslines to create elaborate play spaces for her daughter, Patty, and her friends. She was a cub scout den mother who finished each meeting with a fantastical story about her made-up superhero Rudy Kazooti and his daring exploits, always supplying a cliff hanger ending to ensure the boys would show up the next week. Each Halloween, she bought a bushel of apples to make candy apples and turned a blind eye when kids went home to change costumes and return for another.

Alice and Marvin had a full life in Milwaukee. Her brothers and sisters integrated “Uncle Marbles,” an only child, into family celebrations, sporting events, and annual reunions at Indian Summer Fest, where the DeNomie clan (Denomie with a small “n” for those living north of Highway 29) famously conducted their “hat dance.” It was a circle dance, where a ridiculous hat was placed on the head of an unsuspecting victim, who was then pushed into the center to “show their stuff” on the makeshift dance floor.  It was an embarrassing exercise, but one that served as a test and rite of passage for anyone who wanted to marry into the family or become “kin.”

Alice and Marv owned and operated several taverns in Milwaukee, including the Fieldhouse, which was part sports bar and part library.  Alice kept travel books, dictionaries, and reference material behind the bar and encouraged conversation about history, geography, arts and literature, and current events. A child of the Depression, she was Mrs. Fixit-rewiring lamps, laying carpet, fixing plumbing, and saving anything that might be useful for a future art or design project. At the age of 49, she went back to school to collect a two-year degree in commercial art. She painted, sculpted, sewed, beaded and generally was a “maker” her entire life.

When Marv’s health deteriorated, they moved to Capitol Lakes in Madison.  Alice’s creative juices bubbled as she recruited volunteers, welcomed new residents, designed window displays, served on art committees, planned events, hired musicians, and wrote for the Center Post, the monthly Capitol Lakes newsletter. She also fearlessly learned to use a computer, sending e mails, posting comments on social media, and poaching her daughter’s Facebook friends. In her 10th decade, she was as vibrant as she had ever been. Although Alice lived independently in a 5th floor apartment, she organized Saturday socials for residents of the Terraces, the assisted living section of Capitol Lakes, saying she thought it would be good for their quality of life-ironic, given that she was much older than most of them.

A fundraising wreath competition, in which Madison’s floral shops and interior designers created holiday wreaths to benefit the Madison Senior Center, was a highlight for her. She created a birchbark wreath decorated with miniature beaded ornaments, including canoes, ribbon shirts, quivers, winnowing baskets-a nod to her Ojibwe identity. She was thrilled when in silent auction it fetched the highest price in the competition.

Alice was a fixture at her grandsons’ football, basketball, hockey, and baseball games, where she infamously heckled umpires with 1940s-era insults: “Somebody get that ump a map; he can’t find home plate.”  In bases loaded situations, she’d yell, “Keep the porch lights on folks; they’re comin’ home.” On one occasion, the ump turned to glare at the stands, only to see the culprit was an 85-year-old lady he couldn’t in good faith tell to pipe down.

One of her great joys was to volunteer at the Capitol Lakes Lunch Box, the grab-and-go food service in the Atrium.  She was the “muscle” as she described it, making sure that no one touched the food presentations or violated any health codes.  Mostly, it was an opportunity to hang out with her cherished friend, Ron Ladell, who managed the Lunch Box.

At age 99, when declining health made it impossible for her to continue to live independently, she moved in with her daughter and son-in-law in Madison. She celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and relatives and was overjoyed that many of her best buddies from Capitol Lakes attended her party. Her final months were filled with phone calls and visits from friends and family and loving care from her Agrace Hospice team- Alison, Carmen, and Stephanie-and Faye from Memories Respite.

Alice was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Marvin; her brothers, Orrin (Helen), Tom (Pat), and Ed (Clara) DeNomie; and her sister, Mary Jane Kahl (Ken). She is survived by her sister, Josie Kreinbrink (Don); her children, Mike (Beth Schultz) and Patty Loew (David Braga); her grandchildren, Jim Loew, Brooks Braga (Kaila) and Dominic Braga; and great-grandson, Ky Braga.

A celebration of life will be held at GRAND HALL OF CAPITOL LAKES, 333 W. Main St., Madison, Wis., from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, 2024.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Wisconsin Indian Education Association (WIEA) Scholarship Fund. WIEA, PO Box 910, Keshena, WI  54135.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420