Alice M. Oates of Appleton, Wis., died peacefully of natural causes on Dec. 8 at the age of 91 surrounded by her appreciative and loving family.

Alice was born on Jan. 10, 1929, in Delavan, Wis., the oldest of four children of Bill and Ethel (Welch) Fleming. Her Irish parents owned and operated Fleming's Tavern on Delavan Lake from 1920 to 1970 and she grew up on the lake. She was a 1947 graduate of Delavan High School, where she played clarinet in the band, sang in the choir and was a cheerleader. She married James E. Oates in Chicago on May 7, 1949 and they had five children. They moved the family from Elmhurst, Ill., to Appleton when Jim bought the Sealtest Milk Distributorship in 1959 and thought it was the best decision they ever made because of the many wonderful friendships they developed over the years.

In addition to raising five children, Alice kept the books for several companies Jim owned, sitting at the kitchen table banging on an adding machine while keeping tabs on her kids and maintaining the cleanest house in Appleton. After Jim and his brother Holland Oates sold the milk distributorship, Alice worked in the office for Dougherty Sales and later for Siekert & Baum. Among the many highlights of her life were a trip to Ireland she and Jim took with Dick and Sue Kewley and Don and Carol Killoren in the late 1980s and a more recent trip to Italy with her friend Carol Plank. Like her mother, Alice was fun-loving, sharp-tongued and above all a great and loyal friend. She was one of those rare people who never had an enemy.

Alice was an avid fan of the Packers (yes, she attended the Ice Bowl) and the Badgers basketball team. She coordinated a Thursday lunch bunch with a group of her friends for more than 20 years. After Jim died in 2008, she became an avid reader and did Word Search and Sudoku puzzles daily, then watched Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. She and Jim were members of St. Mary's Catholic Church for many years and later St. Thomas More, with the common denominator being Fr. Gerald Falk, a family friend who is now retired. She received in-home communion right up until the end of her life thanks to another family friend, Brian Garvey.

Alice is survived by her children, Jim (Kris) Oates of Appleton, Tom (Kathy Semenchuk) Oates of Madison, Sue (Jim) Friebel of Pulaski, Mary Alice (Gene Walczak) Ford of Custer and Tim (Sue) Oates of Appleton; grandsons J.D. (Keri) Freibel of Pulaski and Alex Oates of Appleton; great-grandchildren Chase Friebel and Allie Friebel of Pulaski; step-grandsons Brandon (Dawn) Fitt of Port Clinton, Ohio, Jess (Amanda) Merten of Lake Forest, Ill., Sam Merten of Dallas, Texas, Ben Merten of Appleton, Mark (Chris) Friebel of Little Chute, and Paul (Tracy) Friebel of Kaukauna; sister-in-law Jeanette Oates of Appleton; lifelong friends Betty Schalmo of Madison and Alice Alder of Elkhorn; and many other relatives, friends and helpful neighbors.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; siblings Jean Sturtevant, Kathryn Bliven and Tom Fleming; and son-in-law Kevin Ford.

The family would like to thank Dr. Jack Anderson, who provided medical care to Jim and Alice for many years and somehow made them feel like they were his only patients; Dr. Tom Winek, who gave Alice many extra years after a bout with breast cancer; and the wonderful nurses, therapists and CNAs from ThedaCare At Home and ThedaCare Hospice.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be no public service for Alice. A private mass for the family is planned with burial later in Delavan.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Alice's name to the Down Syndrome Association of Wisconsin - Green Bay Chapter. Please mail checks to: DSAW - Green Bay, P.O. Box 668, Green Bay WI 54305 or go online at www.dsaw.org/donate and choose the Green Bay chapter in the dropdown.