Funeral services for Alice Ann Thompson Andrew, 96, a lifelong resident of Jefferson, will be Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 10:30 am at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson, Iowa.  Internment will be in the Jefferson Cemetery.  Visitation will be after 10:30 am Monday, May 31, 2010 at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson with the family present from 4-7 pm. Pastor Charles Thompson, Alice’s nephew, will officiate.

Alice Ann Andrew, the daughter of Oren Park and Bessie (Black) Thompson was born August 22, 1913 at Blue Bonnet farm four miles south of Jefferson. Her great grandfather John Thompson purchased the original eighty acres of this farm, which remained in her name 155 years later. The land was purchased in an 1855 government land sale for $1.25 per acre.

Alice Ann attended country school with her brother, Dean and later Franklin Township School in Cooper. For their last two years of school, they attended Jefferson High School, graduating in 1930.

Alice Ann earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Nursing at the University of Iowa. She played violin in the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra and was an active member of Chi Omega sorority.

As a registered nurse she furthered her nursing education and career at hospitals in Lyons, New Jersey; New York City, New York and St. Louis, Missouri.

On July 5, 1942, Alice Ann was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the US Army Nurse Corps. Alice Ann served three years and three days as a neuro-surgical nurse in England, North Africa, Italy, and France.  Her unit, the 21st General Hospital, treated an average of 1,700 wounded soldiers, swelling to 4,000 patients at a time.  Alice Ann was one of 120 nurses working 12 hour shifts to accomplish this feat.  Also during her tour of duty the 21st General became one of the first units to administer penicillin.

After the war, Alice Ann returned to Jefferson to care for her beloved father.  She worked at the Greene County Hospital for a brief time and served a period as supervisor of nurses.  Following WWII, Alice Ann earned a pilot’s license under the government training program for military veterans.

A happy marriage that lasted 62 years began on May 2, 1948 when Alice Ann married James Henry Andrew.  She devoted herself to her husband and their three children, James O., Jane Ann and Karen.

Alice Ann served as a community leader, teaching Sunday school, serving as president of the United Methodist Women and for 19 years chairing the bereavement committee of the First United Methodist Church of Jefferson.  During this time, she and her committee served over 400 funeral dinners to 18,000 people.

She was a past president of Beta Tau Delta and P.E.O. Chapter CZ, past worthy matron of the Order of Eastern Star, past mother advisor of Rainbow girls and past chairperson of the Greene County Cancer Society.  She chaired the 1973 Jefferson All School Alumni Banquet, twice chaired the band parents fundraising dinner and served on the boards of the Greenewood Center and American Field Service (AFS).  She was a former Camp Fire Girl leader, member of the Heart of Hawkeye Council and a Cub Scout den mother.  She was a 50 plus year member of the United Methodist Women, Chapter CZ P.E.O., Beta Tau Delta and Order of Eastern Star.  Alice Ann was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Jefferson.  In 1995, Alice Ann and her husband James H. were honored with the Above and Beyond the Call (ABC) award by the Jefferson Area Chamber of Commerce.

In her spare time, Alice Ann loved taking care of her grandchildren, tending to her Collie and Sheltie dogs, searching for wildflowers, sewing, attending musical and theater productions and travelling.  Alice and Jim spent 14 winters in San Antonio, TX, living in their motor home.  Highlights were visits by their children, grandchildren, and Jefferson friends several years.  She became an avid bicyclist in the mid-1970s.  Many years she set and accomplished a goal of biking 1,000 miles during the year.  She biked until the age of 90 when her eyesight no longer permitted.

Alice Ann was preceded in death by her parents, Oren and Bessie Thompson, brother Dr. Dean Thompson and sister-in-law Frances Thompson.

She leaves behind her husband of 62 years, James H. Andrew; son James O. Andrew (Jacque); and daughters, Jane Ann Andrew and Karen Andrew-Monaghan; five grandchildren, Jane Emily Andrew, Julia Katherine Griffin (Tom), Jennifer Ann Andrew; Tristan James Monaghan and Alison Elizabeth Monaghan.

In lieu of flowers, Alice Ann requested memorials to Greene County Medical Center Long Term Care Unit, the Jefferson Public Library and the Greenewood Center.