Alice Lee Brumbach

Alice Lee Brumbach passed away peacefully in her sleep on December 10, 2021 at the age of 97.

A Graveside service will be held 10:00 AM Thursday, December 16, 2021 at Parkhill Cemetery with Rev. Lynn Meadows-White officiating according to McMullen Funeral Home and Crematory, 3874 Gentian Blvd. Columbus, GA 31907. In true Alice fashion, she planned for this. She will be wearing her favorite purple skirt suit and rainbow socks with no shoes.

If you ever had the pleasure of a special meal with Alice, she probably made her fried chicken, cooked in the cast iron skillet that once belonged to her mother. The chickens had to be small, three pounds or less, and they had to be soaked in salt water - never buttermilk. She probably served them with potato salad and green beans, simmered for at least an hour, and with meat, preferably bacon or ham. If someone tried to serve her seared or steamed or grilled vegetables, she had a few choice words about that.

During meals she might talk about her childhood. She was born on May 8, 1924, older sister to Sarah, Robert, and Harvey Shannon aka “Buddy”. She was cooking their meals before she was ten, standing on a box to reach the stovetop. A neighbor called her “the nicest, nastiest person I ever met” and that was the truth. If she loved you, she loved without measure. If you crossed her, well… Let there be no doubt: Alice Lee Brumbach took names and kicked ass. She was especially protective of her sister Sarah. And no one - no one - could hold a grudge better than Alice.

She met Nevin “Ned” Brumbach of Limekiln, Pennsylvania while he was stationed at Fort Benning, and he would later recall her spirit “full of vim and vigor.” They married in 1943 and raised two sons, Ned Jr. and Conrad. She might tell you about the many times she wanted to wring Ned’s neck, but she held off: they were separated only by his death in 2007.

You might notice during times with Alice how bright she was, razor sharp, observant, quick with a side-eye or a laugh. But after her own children were grown, and without a challenge equal to her gifts, she struggled. That is, until her first grandson David was born. She might tell you that little baby saved her life, and she meant it. He lived with her for his first two years, and he was by her side at the end. It was fitting that the one who brought her such comfort at the beginning of his life gave comfort again at the end of hers.

She had two other grandchildren she loved just as much, her namesake Alicia and Steven. Alice was blessed with four great grandchildren: Steven Jr., Stephanie, Stella Ray and Ash. She was also a beloved aunt and great aunt and cousin and sister-in-law and mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law, and friend.

She did puzzles and crosswords, read voraciously and doted on those fat little Shih Tzus Annabel and Coco. Not to be forgotten was Magnolia, she and Ned’s Shih Tzu, who preceded her in death. She was a planner and a saver, who rarely spent money on herself, but she was always ready to fund a family vacation, and if you knew her well, you probably own a blanket or shoes or some knickknack she bought for you during her many hours watching QVC.

If you ever had the pleasure of a special meal with Alice, then you had company, because special meals meant as many family and friends as possible, packed around her dining room table in the house she shared with Ned; and later in the one she shared with Conrad and his wife Linda, who cared for her in her final years with unwavering devotion. Meals around that table will never be the same. We hold our memories of her close, with laughter and tears, and remember that her life was a lesson: nothing is more important than love and the people you share it with.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Hospice of Golden Isles, Inc., 1692 Glynco Parkway, Brunswick, GA, 31525.