Alice Ayers Schmidt Otten, a beloved friend, mentor, and teacher passed away on August 6. 2010.<\/p>\n
On April 12, 1918, she was born in Estancia, NM to Fred and Mira Ayers. Alice was the baby sister to three brothers. The Ayers were a self-sufficient, homesteading family who provided an educational foundation, which Alice dedicated her life to sharing with everyone she encountered.<\/p>\n
Alice graduated from her parents\u2019 alma mater, the University of Kansas, in 1941 with a degree in Botany and Biology, and with minors in English, Social Sciences, and Education. There she met her future husband Robert Schmidt, her botany instructor. After they married on June 6, 1943, Alice pursued graduate studies while teaching high school biology in each community where they lived, ranging from Washington,D.C. to Los Angeles, to Helena, MT. Robert passed away in February of 1968. On October 18, 1972, Alice married Robert E. Mike Otten in Helena; he passed away a year and four months after their marriage.<\/p>\n
For nearly forty years, Alice was a master teacher\u2014she cared not only about conveying the material to be learned but also about developing each student\u2019s work ethic, character, and integrity. As the faculty advisor for the 3-7-7\u2019s for 28 years, she encouraged students to hone their leadership skills, scholastic achievements, and community service. She not only invested her time and love in her students but also generously supported their national and international travel to promote their education.<\/p>\n
She was an active member of her profession by giving her time and talent to national teaching associations, including Alpha Delta Kappa. Alice\u2019s life exemplified the values she taught her students. She enriched the Helena community through her service, ranging from the Daughters of the American Revolution, to United Way, to the Lewis and Clark County Weed Board. She insisted that everything be done correctly, because she always carefully attended to the details of each of her projects. She loved learning about the cultures of other places and traveled all over the world. Until the very end, her mind was brilliant and curious.<\/p>\n
Alice was an active and dedicated leader of Saint Paul\u2019s United Methodist Church. Her life is truly an example for all who knew her.<\/p>\n
She is preceded in death by her husbands, parents, two brothers, and two step-daughters. Surviving Alice is her brother, Edgar Ayers of Battle Creek, MI; brother-in-law Roland Schmidt, of North Newton, KS; her many nieces, nephews; step-grandchildren; two stepdaughters, Joy Shellenberg of Bozeman and Dorothy Peterson of Helena; and her dear friend Mary Lois Sanford of Helena.<\/p>\n
A memorial service will be held at 11 am, Saturday, August 21, 2010, at the Saint Paul\u2019s United Methodist Church with luncheon to follow. After the luncheon, the burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens. Memorial donations may be sent to Intermountain Children\u2019s Home or God\u2019s Love. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.aswfuneralhome.com<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/242490_profile_pic.png","youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}