Alice Wellejus

She was a woman of love and courage. At age seventeen, and against the wishes of her family (which believed she was too young), Alice White committed herself to a young war veteran about to enter college. The marriage to Erie journalist Edward T. Wellejus survived and prospered for 68 years. Alice Irene White-Wellejus died Saturday, May 28, 2016 at St. Mary’s at Asbury Ridge at the age of 86.
After marriage at the Methodist Church in Westfield, NY on October 1, 1947, the young couple moved to Meadville where Mrs. Wellejus worked steadily to support her student husband.
Born in Washington, D.C. on October 26, 1929 and orphaned as an infant, she was adopted by an aunt, Irene (White) Uhlman and her husband Charles who preceded her in death. She was also preceded by her two sisters, Jean Crotty and Betty Wagner-Althof.
Alice was the devoted mother of three children, Michael Wellejus-a retired Erie School music teacher, who resides in Las Vegas, NV; Rebecca (Becky) Wellejus- a retired speech/language pathologist of Erie and Dr. Matthew Wellejus-(married to the former Aimee Beer), a periodontist working with the Veterans Administration in Columbus, OH. She is also survived by four grandchildren; Troy Wellejus of Erie; Dr. Kevin Wellejus (Jill), a veterinarian in WI; Marshall Troy Wellejus and Emeron Rose Wellejus of OH. Also surviving are two great-grandchildren; Claire Wellejus and Casey Alice Wellejus of Chilton, WI.
A graduate of Academy High School, class of 1947, Alice also attended classes at Villa Maria College and obtained a real estate license. She also worked at the former Boston Store, as a clerk and very special to her, a model. Additionally, she worked at Halle’s Department Store, The conviction that Alice brought into her marriage  carried through to her children, insisting that all have a college education.
Alice encouraged her husband’s desire to travel and together they visited 47 of the U.S. states, all of the Canadian provinces with the exception of Newfoundland and the Yukon; fifteen European countries, Tunisia in Africa and Venezuela in South America.
She was a member of St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church. Her smile, energy, and enthusiasm-her love of life and family- were infectious and will live on through the lives she touched. The family would like to thank the nurses and nurse’s aides and St. Mary’s Asbury Ridge for the wonderful care provided their mother.
Friends are invited to call at the John J. Quinn Funeral Home, West 9th & Liberty St. on         Wednesday from 3:00 PM until 7:00 PM and are invited to attend Funeral Services there Thursday at 11:00 AM.
Memorials may be made to the ANNA Shelter, 1555 E. 10th St., Erie, PA 16503 or to the Humane Society, 2407  Interchange Rd., Erie, PA 16508.