Alice Brunmeier Lee

Alice L. Wangen Brunmeier Lee, age 97 of Rochester Hills, passed away on August 16, 2025, in Troy, Michigan.

Born on November 3, 1927 to the late Martin and Betsy Wangen, she was the beloved wife of the late LaVerne Brunmeier, and the late Merrill Lee, Loving mother of Sandra (Bruce) Cole, Allan (Pam) Brunmeier, Carol (Michael) Frank; Grandmother and Great-grandmother of Erin (Josh) Reed, and children Elliott, Alaina, and Owen; Robert (Mackenzie Holzinger) Brunmeier, and children Jack, Bradleigh and Della; the late Ian Frank; Brett (Jacy Aldridge) Frank and children Charlotte, Eva, Sophia, and Parker; Step-Mother of the late Dick (Helen) Lee, and Judy McGrogan; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Alice was raised on a farm in Southern Minnesota. The challenges that farm life can bring instilled a strong work ethic in Alice and her siblings from a young age. Being raised on a farm, aside from learning many valuable life skills, created a bond and a closeness with her brothers and sisters that endured throughout their lifetimes. This lifetime of closeness was shared with their eventual spouses and children, creating a legacy of strong family ties that lives on to this day.

Alice was a Christian woman of great faith, and a member of Oakland Lutheran Church in Minnesota, as well as St. Paul Lutheran Church in Pontiac, Michigan. Alice shared this faith and these Christian values with her own family and children, also enhancing their lives in this meaningful way.

Through her learned skills from a young age on the farm, combined with a powerful Christian faith Alice knew and saw the rewards of working hard and never giving up. Her future was bright, as she bravely endeavored into adult life after graduating from Austin High School. An incredible beauty with courage and fierceness working in her favor, she began the journey of building a meaningful life.

Alice met her beloved, LaVerne Brunmeier as she was embarking on her life's journey, and her world turned. Together, as newlyweds, they bravely made the decision to relocate to Pontiac, Michigan to pursue a new life together away from the farm, and improve their career opportunities in a new city, and a new state. This choice proved fruitful from a work perspective, but also, from a family perspective as their family grew into a beautiful and close-knit family of five when Sandra, Allan and Carol joined the journey.

The sky was the limit as this young family of five busied themselves with the business of life in Michigan, family and faith always being at the forefront as Alice and Vern watched their children grow and flourish. Life was sprinkled with many experiences, including trips back and forth to Minnesota to visit cherished family members on the farm, making great family memories together along the way.

As the children grew and ventured off on their own life's journeys, thinking about their retirement years became a long awaited and very welcomed idea for Alice and Vern. After many long years of demanding jobs, and raising a family, this retirement dream became a reality. Alice retired after 25 years with the postal service. They planned and considered all their options, before settling on a beautiful new RV to see the country, to spend time together and with family, and pursue yet another new adventure of a different kind. But, as with all things in life, the unexpected, the disappointing things that just happen for no good reason, the unwelcome developments that sometimes just happen...Vern became very ill shortly after retirement. In a very unexpected turn of events, Alice found herself journeying into retirement without her beloved LaVerne, as he passed after a valiant fight against cancer on October 2, 1992. They had been married 38 years at the time of Vern's death.

Shortly thereafter, Alice mournfully, yet bravely honored their plans that they had made together, knowing that Vern would want her to enjoy retirement in the way they had so carefully planned. With encouragement from her children and her siblings, a new world of retirement years opened up for Alice that would last 33 wonderful years. Travel, and the purchase of a winter home in Arizona that would become a source of family togetherness and joy for any who visited for years to come. Always a skilled hostess, the gatherings, meals, happy hours, parties, celebrations and endless list of house guests, turned the Arizona experience into what Alice and Vern had dreamed of for their retirement.

Later, while visiting her sister, Berline, in Arizona she was re-introduced to Merrill Lee; they both loved dancing and had much in common; they married, adding more family to her life! Merrill and Alice were married for 17 years until his death.

Alice, always a gamer with a willingness to try anything new, never said no to an invitation or social gathering, enjoyed many years of retirement, in the fullest sense of the word. She continued to travel between Arizona, Minnesota, Michigan, and even Norway for 33 years, up until the age of 96, when traveling became too difficult to manage.

Alice's legacy and the powerful memory of her will live on, a total ace at cards, both gifted and lucky, impossible to beat, her children, grandchildren, even her great grandchildren would try but could not with any regularity beat her at cards!!!! Alice never missed greeting all of her loved ones on their birthdays and anniversaries with a special card and personal note. Her energy and wisdom, right up until the end of her life is something we should all strive for because Alice made every minute count. She will be remembered fondly, and missed greatly by all who knew her.

A funeral service will be held at 1:00PM on Thursday, August 28, 2025, at Oakland Lutheran Church, in Albert Lea, with a visitation beginning at 12:00PM. The family will receive friends at visitation to be held on Wednesday, August 27 from 4:00-7:00PM, at Bonnerup Funeral & Cremation Services, in Albert Lea. Burial will be held at Oakland Lutheran Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in her memory to Boys Town or to OPC Meals on Wheels.