Alice L. Howlett, 84, of Lawrence, Kansas passed away Thursday November 26, 2009 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, after a brave battle with lung cancer.

Alice had happily celebrated her 84th birthday in October. She was born at home to Leona and Harold Huckleberry in Hickory Creek, Missouri later moving to Kansas City area with her family.

Alice attended Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas, leaving early to get her high school equivalency and go to work to help her family. She did find work that she held in high esteem her whole life. She proudly worked as a riveter at the Bomber Plant in Kansas City during WWII, supporting the war effort with hundreds of other young women across America. Her experiences during this time have appeared in a trade magazine, newspaper articles and in one book. In 1946 she married a dental assistant in Kansas City for many years but finished her career with Radiology chartered in Kansas City. She retired to Trenton, Missouri in 1990, and moved to Lawrence, Kansas in 2007 to be closer to her children and grandchildren.

Alice found much joy in life. As a young mother, she revealed in her children; volunteering in PTA, little league baseball and Campfire Girls. She was artistic and loved to crochet and to paint with oils, as well as being an excellent seamstress. She loved to watch birds and follow the Kansas City Royals and the Kansas CityChiefs. Cooking was always a great passion; she enjoyed reading cookbooks and trying new recipes and truly made family meals delicious and special. She was a founding volunteer of Hospice in Trenton. She liked to travel and had wonderful memories of the times she got to do this with her brother and sisters later in life.

She is preceded in death by her husband and survived by son D. Michael Howlett (Sharla) of Belle Plaine Kansas; daughters Sharon Anderson (Andy) of Wichita, Kansas, Deborah Schmelzle (Bob) of Kansas City, Kansas and Kelly Moore (Bill) of Olathe, Kansas; ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; and sister, Ozella Scholl (Otis) of Trenton, Missouri.

Mrs. Howlett continued to place the welfare of her family uppermost in her life until her death. She was a special, strong and loving woman who will be missed greatly.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts be made in Alice's name to Hospice Care of Douglas County, 200 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Lawrence, Kansas 66044.

Memorial Services

A memorial service will be held at the Amos Family Chapel of Shawnee at 1 p.m., Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Friends may call from 12-1 p.m. Tuesday at the chapel.