Alice Joanne Oxborrow Bunker

Alice Joanne Oxborrow was born in Ely, Nevada, on October 26, 1932. She was the third child of Earl and Lena Oxborrow. She had one older sister, Lois, and one brother who died before she was born.  Two younger sisters, Erlene and Jeanette eventually completed her family.

Alice enjoyed those early years in Ely.  She loved playing with the Oxborrow and Carter cousins who lived close by, enjoyed parties and outings, and took her first piano lessons there, a talent that she developed and used throughout her life.

When she was in fifth grade, however, the family had to leave Ely and move to Getchell Mine, a barren mine town located approximately forty miles from Winnemucca.  Less than a year after they moved to Getchell, her beloved sister Erlene died from complications after surgery for appendicitis.  These years could not have been easy, but Alice was resilient, made friends, and enjoyed summer visits with cousins. She attended a one-room schoolhouse and did so well with her schoolwork that she was invited to skip a grade.  She declined because she was not ready to take the long bus ride into Winnemucca for high school, so spent the next year as a teacher’s helper.

In 1946, the family moved to Lund so that Alice could attend high school with her cousins there. Then in 1947, they moved to Sparks, Nevada, just outside of Reno. Alice participated in both church and school activities and continued developing her talent on the piano.  After graduating from high school, she made plans to attend BYU, but the week before she was to leave, she received a job offer to work in a title office, which she accepted.

While attending church activities in the Reno area, she became acquainted with Owen Bunker, a handsome college student from Bunkerville who was attending the University of Nevada. Most of their early interactions were in-group settings such as dances, which they both enjoyed.  Alice enjoyed a very active social life, however, and Alice and Owen never dated exclusively until Owen returned from serving in the Korean War and presented Alice with a ring on his first day back. Alice accepted, and they were married September 29, 1953 in the St. George Temple, and moved to Henderson, Nevada, so that Owen could begin his job as a plant chemist at Timet.

Their first son, Steven, was born the next year. Alice loved being a wife and mother, but these early years of marriage were not idyllic.  Her father Earl was living in their home when he was involved in a work accident that resulted in burns over a large part of his body. About the same time, Steve required surgery and then radiation treatments in Los Angeles to remove a cancerous tumor. Alice and Owen both credited the Lord for the tender mercies they experienced during these trials and for the miraculous recoveries of both Steve and Earl.

Their daughter Lisa was also born in Nevada, and then in the summer of 1957, Owen was offered a job transfer to a new Timet plant that was opening in Toronto, Ohio.  This transfer would take them away from family, friends, and Steve’s doctors, but they prayerfully considered the opportunity and decided to go.

They settled in Wintersville, Ohio, where over time they welcomed four more children into their family: Pam, Jeff, Elaine, and Chris.  Alice was a devoted wife, mother, and homemaker.  She was an excellent cook and set a beautiful table, even for everyday family meals.  She was skilled in sewing, various types of needlework, and arranging flowers. She loved music and not only played the piano for family singalongs, but also found concerts for the family to attend as well as records to play at home. She decorated our home with elegance, and because she loved symbolism, many of the objects and pictures were meaningful as well as lovely.

With all of her elegance, she was also fun.  She loved games, and games were more fun when she was playing, unless the game was Chinese checkers—she was so good at it that no one else could ever win. When her children were small, she read us stories that became favorites. As we grew, she created opportunities for lively conversation at the dinner table. She had a quick wit that never had a sharp edge; her jokes were never at someone else’s expense.

Although Alice never attended college, she read extensively.  She did not have much interest in novels--she wanted to know about real people and places, both historical and current.  She was not able to travel as much as she would have liked, first because of the constraints of caring for her family and later because of her health, but she read books and watched programs about faraway places and cultures.

Her genuine interest in people was a gift.  She created lasting relationships, especially at church where she had many opportunities to serve. Alice and Owen were both life-long members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When they moved to Ohio, the closest congregation was in East Liverpool, nearly an hour away, but they were not deterred in their church attendance and activity. When a new congregation was started in Wintersville, Alice was both a support to Owen in his responsibilities as the first branch president and a powerful influence for good in her own right.  She played the piano and arranged musical numbers for church meetings; taught lessons to groups of various ages; gave talks; visited members in their homes; was a leader in the organizations for women, youth, and children; worked on and taught family history; typed up talks and reports; and provided countless acts of service.

In the community, Alice served as homeroom mother for her children, was active in PTA, including a year as president, and was a member of a district-wide curriculum committee. Along with Owen, she worked on a community beautification project where they planted and cared for a plot of flowers along one of the major roads. She participated in the Civic Choral Society, which also fed her love for music.

She loved family history and temple work, and spent countless hours gathering and compiling family records and reading family stories.  Once the temple in Washington DC was dedicated, she and Owen made temple attendance a regular priority, even though the drive was about six hours each way.

After the children were all grown and out of the house and Owen retired from Timet, Alice and Owen moved to Las Vegas in 1993 to care for her mother Lena, who could no longer live alone.  They kept their home in Ohio and returned each summer until 2001 when they sold the house and made Las Vegas their fulltime residence. Alice was glad to be close to family and enjoyed living near enough to the temple to be able to serve there as well as attend, but leaving Wintersville was hard because of the many good friends she had made there, especially at church and in the neighborhood. 

After being hospitalized with pneumonia in 2003, she required supplemental oxygen, but other than not being able to fly, she did not let that keep her from family events, participation in DAR and DUP, service in the church, and serving in the temple.  Even after she developed vertigo and was no longer able to drive, she enlisted Owen and her children as chauffeurs so that she could continue the activities and associations she enjoyed so much.

Alice and Owen moved into their daughter Pam’s home in 2016 when Owen needed extra care while recovering from heart surgery.  This was a blessing, especially when Alice was confined to home during the pandemic since she had pulmonary fibrosis and was considered high risk.  

In June of 2023, after a short illness, Owen died, just a few months before they would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Alice was able to attend the funeral, but was too weak to attend the burial. She was eventually confined to bed as her disease progressed, but she was usually cheerful and always grateful for the care that she was given.

Throughout her life, Alice relied on her testimony of Jesus Christ.  In her final weeks, when asked if she wanted to hear the scriptures read to her or listen to a talk by church leaders, her answer was always, “Oh yes.”  Her voice became weaker, but not her love for her Savior or her family.

Alice passed peacefully on March 13 at home, surrounded by her four daughters.  While we know that she is enjoying a long-awaited reunion with her husband, parents, siblings, and other loved ones who have passed before, she will be sorely missed by her children Steve (Laura) Bunker, Lisa (Fred) Corbaley, Pam (Rollin) Thorley, Jeff (Suz) Bunker, Elaine Bunker, and Chris (Scott) Crawford, as well as her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The viewing and funeral services will be held Saturday, March 23rd at the Monte Cristo Chapel, 1801 S Monte Cristo Way, 89117.  The public viewing will be from 10 to 10:45 AM, with the funeral starting at 11 AM.  

For those unable to attend in person, please use the following link to join us remotely: https://youtube.com/live/zeuTy9pzYQE.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.