Alice Eschweiler

Alice Marie Eschweiler age 81 of New Hampton, Iowa died Thursday, April 11, 2013, at her home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 16, 2013, at Holy Family Parish - St. Joseph Center, New Hampton with Rev. Mark Osterhaus celebrating the Mass. The pall will be placed by Alice’s children. Presenting the offertory gifts will be Dave Eschweiler, Sheryll Harambasic, and Steve Eschweiler. Michelle Lau will be the pianist accompanying Shawnessy Lau as cantor. Interment will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, New Hampton with Victoria Eschweiler, Taylor Eschweiler, Logan Eschweiler, Dave Eschweiler, Nathan Eschweiler and Chris Nikkel as pallbearers. Friends may greet the family 4 - 7 p.m. Monday, April 15, 2013, at the Hugeback Johnson Funeral Home in New Hampton where there will be a 5 p.m. Scripture Service. Further visitation will be one hour prior to the service Tuesday at the church. Alice Marie was born May 3, 1931, the daughter of John and Mabel (Dougherty) Huffman. She was a 1948 graduate of the Waukon High School. After high school she furthered her studies at the St. Francis School of Nursing in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. After college Alice lived in Denver, Colorado for ten years where she worked as a nurse in the civil service at Fitzsimons Army Hospital and the Lowry Air Force Base Hospital. She returned to New Hampton in 1961 and worked as a nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital for five years. On October 9, 1965, Alice was united in marriage to John Eschweiler at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in New Hampton. To this union the couple was blessed with four children. John and Alice moved to Washington, Iowa in 1966 and she worked as a nurse for Mercy Hospital in Iowa City for five years. They returned to New Hampton in 1971 and Alice worked as a public health nurse for Chickasaw County for over 20 years. After retiring in 1997, she worked part time as a nurse for Public Health Homemakers Home Care Aid Agency until her full retirement in 2005. In her spare time and during retirement Alice enjoyed knitting, cross stitching, baking, and working crossword puzzles. Alice was a member of the Hospital Auxiliary where she volunteered her time to comfort patients and assist with fundraising projects. She was strong in her Catholic faith and was very active with the church and so enjoyed working with the RCIA group and teaching faith formation classes. She enjoyed watching sports and was a passionate Iowa Hawkeye fan. Alice lived in New Hampton for many years and loved serving and caring for those in the community. Alice especially had a caring heart for those who were terminally ill and was able to comfort their families during those trying times. She worked long hours during the day, but was always willing to go out of her way at night to administer to those in need. As a wife, mom and grandmother she was always there to support and encourage her family. She loved spending time with her grandchildren. Alice lived a simple life from a worldly perspective, but a very splendid life from a heavenly perspective and will truly be missed by all. Alice is survived by her children, Sheryll (Jerry) Harambasic of Lynchburg, VA, Steven (Deb) Eschweiler of Cedar Falls, David (Marlena) Eschweiler of Fort Wayne, IN, Kevin (Anita) Eschweiler of New Hampton, Tim (Emily) Eschweiler of Woodbury, MN, Todd (Amy) Eschweiler of Johnston, IA and Jean (Scott) Roers of Eau Claire, WI; 15 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; sisters, Lucille Hanson and Maxine Campbell of Waukon, IA; sisters-in-law, Coila Huffman of Oelwein, IA, Mila May Meyer of New Hampton, Bernadette “Sissie” Unterberger of Waverly, IA; brother-in-law, Merle Eschweiler of Portland, OR. Alice was preceded in death by her parents, John and Mabel Huffman; husband, John Eschweiler; brothers, LeRoy Huffman, Cletus Huffman, Raymond Huffman and Curtis Huffman; brother-in-laws, Ralph Hanson, Jim Campbell, Cletus Unterberger and Tom Meyer; sisters-in-law, Jeneen Huffman, Rosemary Huffman, Raffaella Huffman and Ann Huffman; grandson, Joey Eschweiler.