Alice E. Schellenberg

Alice E. Schellenberg (Landis) passed away on Wednesday, July 17,2019. She lived a remarkable 105 years and leaves a legacy of family and friends who have been touched by her deep faith and commitment to God and her amazing ability to care for those in need. Alice graduated Saint Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing, Lancaster PA and went to serve in Africa as a missionary and nurse and was on board the ZamZam on April 17, 1941 when it was torpedoed by a German raider ship. She gave up her seat of safety in a lifeboat to give it to a mother with 6 children. Following two days of floating in the Atlantic, she was picked up by a German prison ship and was kept onboard for 33 days. Back home in Lancaster, her family heard no news of the ship for weeks. When Zamzam passengers entered France, Alice’s father first heard word of the sinking and believed his daughter could be dead. The Lancaster New Era May 19, 1941, reported, "Elizabethtown Girl On Ship Sunk in S. Atlantic," but had no final word on the fate of Zamzam passengers. An Intelligencer Journal article on May 21, 1941, quoted her father, Simon Landis, as saying, "Faith does wonderful things for people. … I am thankful for the many prayers that were said for her safety. I am satisfied those prayers caused the Germans to spare the lives of all those people." When the passengers landed in France, non-American citizens on board were interned until the end of the war, while the Americans were set free. Alice returned home in late June and spoke at many church meetings upon her return home. In a letter home printed in the Lancaster New Era June 19, 1941, she wrote, "I would like to go to Africa from here if possible or advisable to do so." She made it to Kenya the following year, in 1942. Alice met her husband, John, in Kenya and he drove 90 miles on his bicycle to propose. They were married and jointly served in Kenya through Africa Inland Mission while also raising their young family of four children. She is survived by her four adult children; Joanne, Daniel (and his wife Cathy),, Lois and Steve (and his wife Penny). Following their return to the US, Alice was Dean of Women at Trinity College and then returned to Lancaster County where she continued to serve as a nurse at the Calvary Homes. Alice “retired” at 76 and found that she simply had more to give. A hallmark of Alice Schellenberg was her uncanny gift to keep busy and find ways to help others. She began volunteering and ministering to women in the local prisons and saw a need to help women leaving prison successfully transition back into society. At the young age of 86, Alice founded Restoration House to help women leaving prison re-enter society in a supportive and nurturing way. Today her legacy is alive in the many women she helped and the institution she founded that is still active today. For the many family members who simply knew her as “Great-grandma” or “Aunt Alice”, she was a perpetual source of joy and wonder, quoting a Latin phrase to impress her great-grandchildren who said it was too hard to learn Latin, or sending a carefully handwritten card of cheer and encouragement at every important event and always sharing love and good cheer over a wonderful meal. She leaves behind her beloved four children, 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren with an additional one on the way, in addition to many loving nieces and nephews and their spouses and great-nieces and nephews. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, July 20, 2019 at 9:00 A.M. until 10:00 A.M. in the Fellowship Hall at Calvary Homes, 502 Elizabeth Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601. Friends may greet the family after the Memorial Service in Cathedral Hall Lounge. Burial Service will be private. The family is requesting that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Benevolent Fund of Calvary Fellowship Homes: https://www.calvaryhomes.org/donate/

Alice E. Schellenberg

July 17, 2019