Alice J. Brunner, age 95, of 1235 S. 24th St., Manitowoc, died Sunday
evening, March 18, 2007, at Shady Lane Nursing Care Center.
The former Alice Franz was born July 24, 1911, in the town of Mishicot,
daughter of the late Herman and Rose Bonfigt Franz. Alice was an
accomplished artist that created beautiful oil paintings and greeting
cards.
Survivors include one sister, Gertrude Oswald of Manitowoc; two brothers
and two sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends
survive. She was preceded in death by one brother, Roland Franz; and three
sisters, Caroline Haag; Lucille Wilfert; and Emily Fricke.
Funeral services will be held at noon Wednesday, March 21, 2007, at St.
Francis of Assisi Parish-Waldo Blvd Site. The Rev. Gerald Foley will
celebrate the Mass of Christian Burial with cremation to follow, and burial
of her cremated remains at Holy Cross Cemetery in Mishicot at a later date.
Relatives and friends may call at the church on Wednesday from 11 a.m. until
the time of service at noon.
The Jens Family Funeral Home and Crematory of Manitowoc are serving the family.
Herald Times Reporter, March 20, 2007
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Two Rivers Girl Goes Under Knife After An Accident
Two Rivers — (Special) — Miss Alice Franz, 20, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herman
Franz of Town Mishicot has undergone an amputation of her right arm as a result
of injuries received in an accident in this city Wednesday night. The arm was
so badly crushed as to necessitate amputation below the elbow.
The car in which Miss Franz was riding was driven by Louis Brunner, amateur
boxer who has fought several times in Sheboygan rings. Their coupe skidded and
overturned near the Recreational park and was completely demolished. Brunner was
uninjured.
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In 1930, Alice Franz lost her right arm when it was amputated after an automobile
accident. Since she was naturally right-handed, she needed to learn to use her
left hand to perform right hand functions.
Alice married Louis Brunner in 1932, and they moved to Sheboygan where they
operated a store. After 16 years, they parted ways, and Alice went to Florida for
her health at the suggestion of her doctor, but missed the Wisconsin climate and
moved back after a year and a half. She found work as a housekeeper and after 10
years purchased a farm home in the Town of Schleswig.
Due to health concerns, regular work was out of the question, and she felt the need
to do something creative to occupy her time. At the urging of a local shopkeeper,
she took an art course in Kiel being taught by Geoffrey Jenkinson, a famous English
artist. He taught her to observe art forms, which came to her attention as she
walked to the mailbox in the form of tiny flowers and portions of weeds. She did
her first painting on the back of a windowshade, because it was less expensive to
work with than canvas.
Alice created original greeting cards using the flowers and weeds she collected in
a basket on her walks, and then dried and pressed between the pages of old mail-order
catalogs. She made simple arrangements first on white cards; later the arrangements
became more detailed and she used water-color washes on the cards to create moods.
A thin sheet of contact plastic protected the plants on the cards form being broken
or brushed off. No two cards were the same.
She did her major work for two hours in the evening, and needed to rest several hours
a day due to a heart condition. Between gathering the plants, creating the cards, and
tending her home and garden, Alice painted to relax. The pictures she turned out were
those of a talented artist with full use of their facilities, yet she did them with
only her left hand.
You could purchase her cards for the same price or less of a good commercially printed
card, and she exhibited her cards and her paintings at craft shows, in places such as
the Wade House in Greenbush. She tackled almost any subject and her exhibited pictures
won several awards. Several family members now have her work in their homes.