Recent Deaths

Sister Alice Henke
1923–2017

Sister Alice Henke, 94, died on Nov. 13, 2017, at Ladysmith Care and Rehab, where she had resided since 2011.

She was born in rural Thorp, Wis., on Oct. 30, 1923, to Emil and Anna (Baldeschwiler) Henke, the oldest daughter of eight children, one boy and seven girls. She joined the Servite Sisters in Ladysmith in 1943.

She earned a bachelor’s in history from the University of St. Thomas and a master’s in history from Loyola University Chicago.

She taught for 22 years in Catholic elementary schools staffed by Servite Sisters in Illinois, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. She taught history at Mount Senario College in Ladysmith, where she also served as assistant director of admissions and director of alumni.

She was active in the Ladysmith community and especially in the Rusk County Historical Society, where she served as president, vice president, and member of the board. She chaired the committee that produced a 370-page history of Rusk County and co-edited the “Ladysmith 100 Years” souvenir book. She was also a member of the Rusk County Hospital and Nursing Home Auxiliary and Board.

Sister Alice served as archivist for the Servite Sisters for many years and authored a book on the early history of the congregation called "A Branch Amid the Pines."

In 1998 a 32-unit residence for the elderly in Tomahawk, Wis., was named “Alice Henke Villa” in recognition of her work in history and education and for assisting disadvantaged rural people from northern Wisconsin obtain a college education.

She is survived by her sisters Ruth Rose of Onalaska, Wis., Dorothy Wozniak of Stanley, Wis., Sister Dolores Henke, OSM, of Onalaska, Wis., and Marian Pabich of Eau Claire, Wis., many nieces and nephews, and the Servite Sisters, with whom she shared life for 74 years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Lawrence, and sisters Eileen and Marie.

Father David Oberts presided at a Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Ladysmith on Nov. 17, with burial in the convent cemetery.

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