Alma was born June 13, 1936, in Schlegel, Silesia, Germany (now Słupiec, part of Nowa Ruda, Poland), to Friedrich and Anna Strangfeld Wenzel. They had to leave their home when that part of Germany was given to Poland after World War II, escaping with very few belongings. They lived in Schneeberg and Aue, East Germany, until 1953, when they were able to immigrate to the United States after spending a year in a refugee camp in Lübeck, West Germany, leaving everything behind in order to be near a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Alma loved to attend the temple and did so weekly whenever possible.
Alma’s parents were faithful members of the LDS Church before she was born. After coming to America in 1953, Alma learned English well and served as a missionary in Finland from1960-1962 where she had outstanding success. There she met her future husband, John Caffall Alleman. They were married in 1963.
Alma and John lived in New York City, where their first child, Anneli, was born. The three of them also spent a year in Debrecen, Hungary. On their return trip home, they were able to visit Alma’s birthplace in Poland and places where she had served as a missionary. Alma enjoyed serving in the Church, and was a missionary on Temple Square, in addition to filling many other callings, serving in the Primary, Relief Society, Young Women, and Sunday School.
In 1972, she moved with Anneli to Salt Lake City to be near her parents. John joined her in 1973. Two more daughters, Christine and Lisa, were born there. Alma and John were divorced in 1991, but they remained good friends, always living close to each other in Salt Lake City.
Alma was an accomplished furrier, a profession she learned in Zwickau, East Germany. In New York, she worked for Arbeit Brothers. In Salt Lake, she worked at Auerbach’s Department Store, where she learned to be a seamstress and tailor, at which she excelled, working later at Arent’s, then moving to Nordstrom when Arent’s closed in 1990. Alma continued to work full-time at Nordstrom even long after retirement was a possibility for her. She returned to work after her cancer diagnosis and found comfort from the many wonderful coworkers and friends she had there. During her cancer treatments, they were like an extended family to her. She continued to work into January of this year, and she took pride in the fact that she never retired.
Alma taught herself how to cook and became known for her excellent cooking, representing food from many countries. She loved music and sang in the German Chorus Harmonie and the Utah Oratorio Society. Alma excelled at working with her hands and made many beautiful articles in needlepoint, embroidery, which she learned in Hungary, and bobbin lace-making, which she learned as a child. She was also an expert gardener and and loved working outside in her yard, where she could often be seen planting flowers and harvesting the many fruits, and vegetables she grew. She was never happier than when picking berries, or hunting for mushrooms in the mountains. She also liked to travel, and her great desire was to visit Hawaii before she died. This she accomplished just before Christmas in 2011, taking her entire family with her for a wonderful week together while she still had her strength.
Alma is survived by her former husband, John; daughters Anneli Mae Byrd (husband David Ray and daughter Catherine Anne) of South Ogden Utah, and Christine (son Riley Lehmer) and Lisa Brighton (roommate Kristin Anderson) of Salt Lake City; brother Helmut Heinrich Wenzel (wife Janet Drechsel) of Centerville, Utah; and four beloved cats. She was preceded in death by her parents.
There will be a viewing on April 2, 2012, at Larkin Mortuary, 260 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah, from 6 to 8 p.m., and at the Seventeenth Ward, 255 West 500 North, on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 from 10 to 10:45 a.m., prior to funeral services at 11 a.m. Burial will be in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Humane Society of Utah or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
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