Alice May Ford was born to Frederick Herbert and Mabel Anderson Ford, December 17, 1921, on a homestead near Braddock, North Dakota during a blizzard. She weighed about three pounds, so they laid her in a shoe box and kept her warm near the stove. She came to Idaho in her teens and attended Kuna High School, where she was a member of the Honor Society. She finished her senior year at Boise High School, class of 1940, and then went on to study at Link’s Business School. Her older sister Esther married a local boy, Clyde Smart. His brother Grant broke his back in a mining accident and was laid up in the hospital for months, so Alice visited him regularly. They were married July 28, 1941. They had four children: Eleanor, Elaine, Kathy, and Kelly. Alice always had a spiritual interest and had visited many churches from the time she was quite young. In the late ‘40’s, another of Grant’s brothers, Morris, was contacted by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Washington State and began to study the Bible. He returned to Idaho and began sharing the good news with his large family. Alice and Grant began to study the Bible and Alice was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses on September 26, 1953, in Eugene, Oregon. Grant was a carpenter, and worked in construction all over the west to support his family. Alice and the kids came along, living in a 23-ft trailer together with various pets. They settled in Meridian in the late 50’s where the family attended the newly formed congregation there. In 1970, they bought small acreage in Nampa where Alice lived the rest of her life. She was active in various Nampa congregations and was known for her sweet personality and generous spirit. At home, she was often involved in creative activities—writing stories and poems, sewing, making crafts, or entertaining her grandkids. They remember that she was often in the kitchen and her signature cherry cookies, wedding mints and fish frys in the yard. She and Grant always planted a big garden, adding a few unusual seeds each year. Alice canned much of the harvest, and delighted in sharing it with others. She loved animals, too. She kept chickens for many years, there were usually cats around, and perhaps some other farm animals would be seen in the pasture. She enjoyed seeing new parts of the country and traveled with various family members across the western states, as well as a trip back East to see Bethel. She loved Alaska and traveled there a few times (the final time at age 89). In 2016, she took a road trip to Braddock, North Dakota and was delighted to find the homestead where she lived as a child. She is survived by three daughters--Eleanor Little, Elaine Splinter, Kathy Castaneda, all of Nampa, and her son Kelly Smart of Alaska, 12 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. She died at home, surrounded by the love of her kids and grandkids, on December 13, 2018. A memorial service will be held at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 5315 Midway Road, Caldwell, on Saturday, December 22, at 4:30 pm.