Alice ‘Ione’ Schwalbach
BARK RIVER — Alice “Ione” Schwalbach, 81, 5101 I Road, Bark River, was reunited with the love of her life on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, surrounded by her loving family following a lengthy illness.
She was born March 15, 1936, in Chicago, Ill., to John and Alice (Stein) Wikstrom. She moved to Escanaba in 1942 and remained in Escanaba all her life.
On Oct. 4, 1952, she married John “Jack” J. Schwalbach Jr. at All Saints Church in Gladstone. They were married for over 60 years.
Ione worked at the former Woolworth’s and Sav-Mor IGA. She started working at St. Francis Hospital in 1967 as a switchboard operator and after 49 years she retired in May 2016.
She loved sewing, crocheting, reading, watching her favorite sports team that included the Tigers, Lions, Bears and the Packers and most of all, loved spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and her best friends, Jo Kemink and Ruth Chenier, and family friend, Tina Garbe.
Survivors include her six children, 15 grandchildren, and 27 great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her husband, John “Jack” Schwalbach Jr.; her parents, John and Alice Wikstrom, and in-laws John and Edith Schwalbach Sr.; brothers-in-law, Robert Schwalbach, Richard Schwalbach, James Schwalbach and sister-in-law, Helen (Enna) Schwalbach.
A private memorial service for both Jack and Ione will be held at a later date. The family would like to thank all the doctors, nurses and staff at OSF Hospice, especially Katie, Candace and Brie and St. Francis Hospital for their kind words, cards and flowers and taking care of Ione throughout the years.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to OSF Bay de Noc Hospice, 901 North Lincoln Rd., Escanaba, MI 49829.
The Crawford Funeral Homes are assisting the Schwalbach family.