Alice Russman Barth

Once upon a time...

in the city of Pittsburgh, PA, a little girl was born to Cecelia and John Russman. She would join eight siblings-Edith, Mildred, John, Bert, Cyril, Joe, Paul and Ruth. Alice was almost last, coming in at number nine on September 26, 1923. She was followed five years later by a sister, Jean.

What Alice lacked in speed, she made up for in her meticulous style and attention to detail. She was the first in her family to graduate from high school. She was the last living classmate (of fourteen) from St. Wendelin's High School class of 1941. She was the last child to leave the family home and the last of ten children to venture to heaven.

Alice loved to primp. She was a secretary at Joy Manufacturing and later, a secretary for her husband. No doubt, she was the best dressed at work buying lots of clothes at Kaufman's department store where her dad was employed. Like a model, there was nary an outfit that she couldn't pull off. Undoubtedly, there were numerous broken hearts on the path to meeting her husband, James Bernard Barth, at West Park dance hall. Alice loved to dance. Jim and Alice married in 1951 when she was 28-as previously noted she took her time with things! Jim was also 28, and they were each ready for their next life adventures as a couple.

Jim's work took them to Franklin, a small town north of Pittsburgh, where she gave birth to eldest son Jim. Following another transfer, Syracuse, NY would be the birthplace of subsequent children: daughters, Carol and Yvette, and son, John.

Alice devoted her life to raising her children and is survived by them, along with daughters-in-law You and Yelena. She is grandma to ten: Say Sengsouvanna, Lay Sengsouvanna, Dom Sengsouvanna, Justin Zukowski, Kim Beavers, Alison Taylor, Song Zukowski, Juliet Barth, Misha Barth, Yasha Barth and their spouses. She is GiGi to nine: Colby Sengsouvanna, Taylor Sengsouvanna, Leo Sengsouvanna, Phoebe Sengsouvanna, Zoe Sengsouvanna, Kai Taylor, Leo Taylor, Theo Beavers and baby girl due in November. She is sister-in-law to Bob and Dona Barth and she's Aunt Alice to numerous dear nieces and nephews and their descendants . Alice became widowed at a young age and, later, entered a long friendship with a neighbor widower, Carl Clark. His daughter Carol became another "daughter" and her daughters Jennifer and Suzanne "grandkids."

When Alice was 80, she left Syracuse behind for Wilmington, DE to move in with her eldest daughter and son-in-law Carol and Walt Zukowski. She adjusted by making friends, learning to drive on new roads and spending time with kids and grandkids.

Another job transition led Walt to Cleveland, OH. After a summer there with Carol not yet finding a teaching job, mother and daughter returned to Wilmington and lived college-dorm style in a small apartment while Carol taught another year at her old high school. The following year, they returned to Cleveland where Alice would take another written driving test at age 87, once again make friends at local senior centers and adjust to a new area.

Alice adapted well and always delighted in meeting new people. There were still a couple more moves, eventually settling in a 30-story condo on Lake Erie in Lakewood, OH. Alice's room had a wonderful view of the lake from her favorite chair-reminiscent of the lake view in her home near Syracuse. She passed peacefully in her bed beside her chair, on August 19, 2024, 38 days shy of her 101st birthday. May she dance forever in heaven with her husband who passed in 1975.

Alice was a member of St. Luke's Catholic Church in Lakewood, OH where a Mass and visitation will be held at a later date. A celebration of life will be held in Pittsburgh at Queen of Heaven Cemetery where she will join her husband. Donations can be made in her memory to St. Luke's Catholic Church.