Date of Death: September 28, 2023
Service Details
Visitation will be held on Friday, October 13, 2023 beginning at noon at Hohner Funeral Home, 1004 Arnold St., Three Rivers. A memorial service will follow at 2:00 p.m. at the funeral home. She will be laid to rest at Lockwood Cemetery in Coldwater. A livestream of her service is available here.
Obituary Notice
Alice Lorene Pew, 95, of Three Rivers, passed away on Thursday, September 28, 2023 in the comfort of her home.
She was born on August 26, 1928 in Coldwater, the daughter of Rudy and Neva (Crawford) Bates, and graduated from Coldwater High School with the Class of 1947.
Alice retired from GTE, after which she worked at Village Market in Three Rivers.
She married Franklin Pew in 1947. They shared 25 years of marriage before his passing in 1972.
Alice enjoyed her family and spent much time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She liked to golf, knit, crochet, oil painting, board games, and puzzles. She was a member of the Woman’s Club and volunteered her time at the Three Rivers Hospital Gift Shop.
Remaining to cherish this sweet lady’s memory are her daughters, Terry (Ron) VanZoest of Three Rivers and Vicky Reber also of Three Rivers; grandchildren, Chris (Cathy) VanZoest of Colorado, the late Jamie (Lisa (Don Hoffman)) VanZoest of Mendon, Josh (Jeni) Wygant of Three Rivers, Terra (Ken) Lahrke of Vicksburg, and Chet (Emily Winans) Reber of Colorado; great-grandchildren, Zachary Millix, Hannah Millix, Andrew VanZoest, Jillian VanZoest, Brooke VanZoest, Andrea Hoffman, Mason (MacKenzie) Troyer, Oliver Wygant, Lauren Lahrke, Natalie Lahrke, and Cole Lahrke; nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, three sisters, a nephew, and her grandson Jamie Ryan VanZoest.
Additional Information
Donations in Alice’s memory may be directed to Three Rivers Little League. Envelopes are available at the funeral home.
Please Leave Your Condolences
When your condolences are submitted they will not display until approved by the Hohner staff for appropriateness out of respect for their memory. They should appear within 24 hours or less. Thank you for your understanding.
I’m sorry I couldn’t have met Alice–I’m the sister of Robert Teachout above (we are the children of Alice’s brother-in-law who married a second time). About a year before she died, I got the idea to track down any surviving Bates sisters. I found Alice’s sister Norma and called her out of the blue to see if she would talk to me about their sister [Vira] Jean. We ended up talking for quite awhile and if she was any indication of the Bates family then Alice must have been equally fabulous. I tried to reach Alice but failed to connect. Although there is no way to fill the void when someone special departs this world, I hope you can all draw comfort in having had Alice in your lives.
Thank you Star for the kind words. Aunt Norma was very passionate about our family history, and she enjoyed trading any new information she found. She would have been a great one to help you. I am sorry you were not able to connect with my mother, she would have loved to have met you. We were so happy to have met your brother Bob and his family. We will keep in touch.
Our sincere sympathies and thoughts go out to Terry, Ron, Chris and to all the rest of Alice’s families.
We came to meet Alice because of Terry, Ron and Chris’ kindness to welcome PA strangers, me and my family, for the amazing opportunity to meet the last surviving relative of my father. We only met Alice briefly but she also welcomed us, and shared some precious memories of my Father, of whom I never knew. Alice, RIP, and we gratefully thank you, Terry, Ron and Chris for giving us your precious gifts and memories. We hope to keep in touch.
RIP Alice. Thank you for your friendliness oh so many years ago.
May God take your friends and familes’ aching hearts in His healing hands and bring you peace.
I knew Alice from the 1950s , Her Parents house was next to my Cousins yard in Coldwater ,When Alice & Frank came to visit with Vicky & Terry we all played together . Then Alice would yell at them “Time to go Home” and we would say No…..As Kids we never had heard of Three Rivers, ! We all came from Coldwater, Alice went to High School where my Dad and his Sister went. Alice was one of the Sweetest Ladies and always had a kind word for everyone. She lost Frank Way Too Young, But she persevered and made a Happy life for herself….What a Pleasure to know her ALL these years !!
Always had a warm smile and greeting. Alice brightened my day. I’m sure she brightened others as well. Prayers of comfort for the family.
Thinking of you all. Alice was a beautiful sweet lady and will be fondly remembered.
Hugs❤️🙏❤️
Richard & Inge Bonfoey
I worked with Alice at Village Market and she was the nicest and kindest lady you could work with. Rest In Peace Sweet Lady!
I worked with Alice at the phone company. She was one of the sweetest ladies I’ve ever met.
Prayers of comfort to her family.
Alice was a bright cheerful happy lady she will be deeply missed. She was so helpful gave me rides home we had lunches at Burger King together and at t try her hospital we volunteered together for 10 years . ❤️