Alice Shell Webster

1918 - 2020

Alice Shell Webster, 101, of Meridian passed away on Friday, January 24, 2020. Alice was born on December 24, 1918 to James and Belle Parsons in Columbus, Ohio. She was baptized at the age of 10 at the Rich St. Church of Christ in Columbus. At 16, she started playing the piano, sang in the choir, and was active in the youth group. At 19, she met the love of her life, Ernie Shell. He came to church with his mother and asked, "Who is that cute little blonde at the piano?" They started dating and were married August 23, 1940. In August of 1941 a son, Glenn, was added to this union.
In 1937 Alice went to work at the J.C. Goldman Shoe Co. She worked there until June 1941. She took time off to have her son. When World War II started, Ernie went into the Navy in October 1942. Alice had to go back to work to support Glenn and herself. She worked at the Joyce Shoe Company, where she was the floor lady over the fitting room. When Ernie returned from war, Alice and Ernie helped to build the new Church of Christ at Thomas Avenue in Columbus in 1945.
1952 Alice went to work for North American Aviation in Columbus. She worked on the B52 Bomber and the T28 Trainer. In 1956 Alice and Ernie transferred to California with North American Aviation. Alice and Ernie worked at the Downey Division. Alice was in Sheet Metal and Electronics on the Missile Program. She worked at the Los Angeles Division as a Test Equipment Operator, as well as the Slauson plant and the Seal Beach plant. She worked on the Satellite Program while at Seal Beach. She also worked for the Air Force at the Autonetics Division in Anaheim. She was lead lady on the Apollo Program. She worked in Downey at Space Division on the Shuttle Program from 1972 until she retired in 1980. After retiring, she got a call from her supervisor asking her to come back to instruct a group of new hires. She did that for a few months and decided she really wanted to be retired after working for 40 years.
When they moved to California, Alice and Ernie joined the Bellflower Church of Christ. Alice played the piano and taught a Sunday school class. Ernie was an elder and worked with the youth. In 1963 they became charter members of the Cerritos Church of Christ. In 1973 they became members of the Huntington Beach Christian Church.
After Ernie's death in August of 1978, Alice remarried in May 1980 to Ed Webster. They moved from Garden Grove to Lancaster in 1988. They became members of the Quartz Hill Christian Church where Alice played the piano. Alice decorated the church at Quartz Hill for many years. Ed Webster passed away in June of 1998. After that time, the church had financial trouble. Alice cleaned the church without pay for a couple years until the church got back on their feet.
After retirement, she took up flower arranging and painting, and discovered she was quite an artist. She did all her own yard work until she was in her 90s. She always had a positive attitude and feared nothing.
Alice is survived by her two brothers: James and Jerry Parsons; son, Glenn Shell and his wife, Beth; three grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and thirteen great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by sister, Helen Parsons; mother, Belle Parsons; father, James Parsons; step-mother, Jane Parsons; husband, Ernie Shell and husband, Ed Webster.
Private services will be held at Accent Funeral Home, Meridian. Burial will be Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cypress, CA. Remembrances may be left for the family at www.AccentFuneral.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you donate to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a charity close to Alice's heart.