Alice Sheldon Rohrbacher was born Oct. 24, 1923, to Henry Kellog Sheldon and Charlotte Urbain Sheldon. Both H.K. and Charlotte were graduates of the University of Illinois, he in engineering and she in home economy. Alice died on Sept. 11, 2018, in her own home, with her husband, Dick and all her five children by her side.
Alice had an older sister, Hazel, born in 1921, who married John Klauck.
Hazel’s death preceded her sister’s by seven years. Hazel had one child, Duke, born in 1944.
Alice attended Webster Groves High School in Webster Groves, Mo. Upon graduation, just like both of her parents, she attended the University of Illinois, 1940-1943. Studying sociology in school, Alice began to wonder how she was going to make a living in this field after graduation. With a little nudge from her father, she switched her efforts to studying nursing. She graduated in 1947 from St. Luke's School of Nursing, specializing in surgical nursing.
Later that same year, at a social at St. Louis University, Alice met a young man from California, Sandy, George H. Rohrbacher Jr. They were married on July 17, 1947, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Following the ceremony, Alice went back to St. Luke’s for a few weeks to finish up her nurses training.
After discharge from the Army, Sandy pursued his post-graduate education at Berkeley from 1947-1954. Alice worked at Alta Bates Hospital. They lived in student housing, in a tiny little two-bedroom apartment located right next to a busy railroad track. Doing their part to repopulate a world decimated by the loss of millions of people during WWII, on Oct. 29, 1948, George Henri was born in Berkeley, Calif., and grew up to be a cattle rancher.
George, inventor of The Farming Game, also served in the Washington State Senate. He married Ann Jenkins in 1970. Alice and Sandy’s second child, Karen Dean was born July 28,1950, inBerkeley. Karen grew up to be activities director at Goodwill Industries of Maine. She spent her career working with the handicapped and teaching. Karen married John Hartwell in 1981. They live in Maine.
Next for Alice and Sandy came Janice Lynn, also born on July 28, but in 1953, also in Berkeley, Calif. Janice was in Information Technology at DuPont. She lives in Philadelphia.
Sandy took a job with the USDA in a research lab. This required the family to move to Auburn, Ala. was then a dry state. Which is when the Rohrbachers learned how to brew beer. They owned one of the very first VW vans in the state. Those Alabama days were long, long before home air conditioning, and in Auburn, life was exceptionally hot and sticky a large part of the year.
On Sept. 30, 1955, Kurt Sheldon was born in Auburn, Ala., Kurt married Charlene Walker in 1999. Kurt became a registered nurse, working E R and oncology. He fixed cars for fun and employment. Kurt and Charn live at the Cook House, Willard, Wash. Last on the Rohrbacher baby list was Patrick Mark, born March 11, 1957. He married Betty Sheetz who died in 2005. He re-married Glenna Barton in 2007. Pat has had a career in financial management and lives in Memphis, Tenn.
Deciding that six years in Alabama was more than enough, the Rohrbachers moved North in 1958 to Pearl River, N.Y., then to Princeton, N.J. in 1960.
Three weeks after George and Ann were married on June 10, 1970. On July 7, 1970, with no prior warning, at only 46 years of age, Sandy died of a heart attack. One minute he was alive, the next minute he was dead. Alice had to go back to work to support herself. She had kids still living at home and off at college.
Alice got a job at Princeton Data Film and soon was the supervisor of 15 people. In 1980, during a visit to the Columbia Gorge, staying at George and Ann’s cattle ranch, playing with a growing crew of grandkids, Alice got to thinking about moving to The Dalles, Ore. Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, nice clean town, family close ... ahh, what the heck, why not move out there??
Her kids had left the nest ... so, why not go?
As Alice was leaving to fly back to New Jersey, she told daughter-in-law Ann that she was serious about the wild idea of moving across the country to The Dalles. Alice had decided all she would need was a small house near Sorosis Park with a view of the river, and a little space for a garden. Two weeks after she went back east, Ann called to tell Alice she had found exactly the house Alice was looking for.
She bought it sight unseen the next week. Alice didn’t actually see the house, her new home, until six months after she bought it.
Alice took a refresher course and got her nursing license for Oregon. She worked at The Dalles General Hospital, later named the Mid-Columbia Medical Center, from 1981 until she retired.
While working at the hospital, she met Annamay Bissonette, another nurse. The two of them became close friends and had great fun traveling the world together.
Alice joined St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and was very active there for many years, doing all the church ground’s gardening until 2011, when at the age of 89, she decided to retire.
Gardening was one of the central passions of Alice’s life. Her freezer is full of blueberries she grew, her home filled with flowers she planted. She was an active member of Master Gardeners for over 15 years.
She loved sewing, cooking and her cats. Alice was a world-class cookie baker.
In 2004, Annamay, Alice’s best friend, died. Afterwards Annamay’s husband Dick, a retired wildlife biologist and also a Master Gardener himself, took a serious interest in Alice. Dick was persistent. It started with dinners: one night at his house, the next night at hers. During their romance, on trips to the Oregon shore and the like, they always stayed in separate rooms.
When they were both 83 years old, they finally decided to tie the knot. It was the start of 12 years of an exceptionally happy marriage. Alice and Dick shared a real passion for gardening, and love, true love, started to bloom between them. They demonstrated that to all those around them, that love is just as powerful and life-changing at 95 as it is at 25.
Alice Sheldon Rohrbacher married Richard J. Scherzinger on July 9, 2006, at an overlook of the Columbia River a few miles west of Rowena. It was a most wonderful day finished off by a glorious sunset.
Alice died four weeks before her 95th birthday without pain, in her own home, her husband and all of her children and several of her grandchildren surrounding her. Alice is survived by her husband Dick, five children, nine grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
A private service will be held near the place she and Dick were married.
It would please Alice greatly if you would help support The Humane Society or St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
