Alice Ruth Larson Fitzwilliam, of Warsaw, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at Miller’s Merry Manor of Warsaw at the age of 93.
She was born on Nov. 16, 1930, in Chicago, to Elsie Hanson and Harold Larson. On March 24, 1951, at the young age of 20, she married Francis John “Jack” Fitzwilliam in Wheaton, Ill. They were blessed with 65 years of marriage together before Jack passed away on Feb. 19, 2017.
Alice was a wonderful partner to Jack and moved to Tokyo, Japan, while he taught in a Christian Academy for missionary children. Later they moved where he taught at Faith Academy in Manila, Philippines, for two years. In 1966 she and her family returned to Wheaton, Ill., where she was a member of College Church. Alice worked for Christianity Today in Wheaton, Ill., and wore many hats throughout her time there and ended her career with the position of editor. She and her husband founded and operated Business Link Executive Suites, an office rental space in the Chicago area for many years. Alice and Jack moved to Warsaw, Indiana, in 2005 to spend the rest of their lives enjoying their family in the area.
She was a wonderful mother and homemaker wherever God had planted their family. Alice dearly loved her family and was always available for her children and grandchildren. She could always be found reading a book and she loved to write. At the age of 90, she completed a book she authored, “Legacy of Faith,” the story about the journey of her husband’s parents who were missionaries in China.
A lifetime of experience in Alice’s 93 years on this Earth helped her learn and teach about service, sacrifice, and her love and faith for her Lord and Savior. She will forever be remembered as a wonderful mother of four, and her memory will live on with her beloved 16 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
She will be lovingly remembered by her son, Stephen Fitzwilliam, Kunming, China; three daughters: Karen (Brent) Wildman, Winona Lake; Susan Alford, Omaha, Neb.; and Nancy (Rod) Wildman, Winona Lake. She was preceded in death by her husband and her sister, Sheryl Duncan.
Alice’s life will be celebrated with a memorial service at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 3 at College Church, 332 E. Seminary Ave., Wheaton, Ill. She will be laid to rest at Wheaton Cemetery in Wheaton, Ill., with a 2 p.m. graveside service. Arrangements were entrusted to Redpath-Fruth Funeral Home, 225 Argonne Road, Warsaw.
Memorial donations may be directed to 2nd Mile Missions - Dominican Republic, P.O. Box 733, Winona Lake, IN 46590 and would be appreciated by the family.
Online condolences may be sent through the funeral home’s website at www.redpathfruthfuneralhome.com.