Alice Veronica (Biever) Ellis, 89, was born October 8th, 1934, on a small farm near Clark, South Dakota, the fourth child of Louis John and Vina Mae (Rhoten) Biever. She spent her youth on a small farm 9 1/2 miles north of Iroquois SD where she attended a one room school with all 8 grades that included six of her siblings at the same time. Alice graduated as Valedictorian of Iroquois SD High School in 1952. In 1955 she graduated as a Registered Nurse from St. Johnís School of Nursing in Huron, SD. After working as a nurse in Huron for a couple years, she worked in Chicago, IL before moving to Houston, TX to work at M.D. Anderson Hospital. There she helped with one of the 1st heart transplants. She later worked for Southeast Memorial Hospital in Houston for many years. She and David N. Ellis were married November 17,1968. Their son David Louis Ellis, born March 05, 1973, was the center of her life.
She served as an active nurse for 44 years! She was devoted to the care of our natural environment – loved birds and was a long time Audubon Society member. She was an amateur genealogist – after many years of research she found her dadís relatives in Germany and went to meet them. She lived her intense belief in social responsibility. When hurricane Katrina hit Houston, she drove to people in need and fed them out of her trunk. She believed everyone had a social and moral duty to be an informed voter – she diligently studied every candidate, and we were all aware of her well-formed opinions.
Alice died Wednesday September 25th, 2024, at Park Manor South Belt in Houston, Texas. Aliceís ashes will be buried later in Saint Williams Cemetery Yale, SD. Her grave site is adjacent to her parents, and her brothers Bob, Jerry, John, and Bill Biever, where she will eventually be joined by her husband and son. She was predeceased by her sister Shirley and her husband Mike Salter; Bobís wife Maxine, and Janiceís husband Al; two nieces Kim (Lentz) Soderberg, and Terri (Lentz) Gouveia; and a nephew Steven Salter.
Alice is survived by her husband David N. and son David L. Ellis in Houston, TX; sister Janice (Biever) Lentz in Huron, SD; brothers and wives Wayne and Darlene Biever in Pine City, MN and Larry and Helen Biever in Fredericksburg, VA; and sister-in-law Kathleen Biever in Iroquois SD. She has 20 nieces and nephews, their spouses and their children.
Aliceís memorial visitation will be at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at Welter Funeral Home with burial to follow at St. Williams Cemetery in Yale, South Dakota. Visit www.welterfuneralhome.com
