Alice Marie Campbell
Alice Marie Campbell passed away this morning after an extended battle with Alzheimer’s. She was my mother.
Alice was born on June 7th, 1920, in Milan, MN, the thirteenth of fourteen children born to Danish immigrants Eli and Anna Willadsen. Before her second birthday, the family had relocated to Sheboygan Falls, WI, where Alice grew up on the family farm. From there she went on to attend Moody Bible Institute in Chicago before moving on to be a missionary in Africa, in Zambia at first and later to the Belgian Congo.
She spent a decade in the African bush, where she met and married my father, James, who was working as a chemist in the copper mines. When they left Africa, they traveled for a year in the Middle East and Europe before settling in Santa Barbara in 1960, which is where I was born in 1962 (although, now that I think about it, “settling” is probably not the right word.) From Santa Barbara, the Campbell’s went to Salt Lake City for a couple years, then on to St. John’s, Newfoundland, for another four birthdays before returning to Southern California.
In 1980, Alice and Jim moved back to St. John’s, where they stayed until 1989. The idea at the time was that they would stay there for good, but the winters were too long and hard for her as she got older. Santa Barbara, with its mild climate and good memories, beckoned once again and they moved back 22 years ago and have been there ever since.
Alice is survived by her husband Jim, son Ken, grandchildren Jessica, Sawyer and Micah, and sister Ruth, along with the hundreds – perhaps thousands – of friends whose lives she has touched throughout the years. Her last ten days were spent at Sarah House in Santa Barbara, an enormously caring and beautiful facility run by the Hospice and the Visiting Nurses Association.
About Ken Campbell
New Release
A story of sea kayaking and science on the rugged coast of Alaska. Coming – Spring 2014.
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