ALICE ELAINE JOLLY
Alice Jolly passed away peacefully on March 1, 2021 at the age of 89. She was born in Olds Alberta Canada March 12, 1931 to Herb & Olga Helwig. In 1942, Alice’s mother Olga boarded a train to Lodi to visit her parents. After five years, in 1947, Olga and Herb then made the decision to sell their farm and move to the Central Valley. They opened their first restaurant in Lodi on Central Avenue in 1949 and eventually opened Helwig’s Smorgy on Park and Hutchins Street. Alice was proud to work for her family’s restaurant and also spent some time serving ice cream at Karen’s Ice Cream on School Street in 1948. The Helwig family had reunions every two years in both the U.S. and Canada. Alice and her sister Phyllis attended each one with their folks. The last one was in Vancouver B.C. in 2003.
Alice married Phil Jolly, a POW and veteran of the Korean War, in March of 1951 in Lodi. They were married for 50 years until his passing in November of 2001. Alice and Phil were active supportive members of the American Ex POW and POW Delta Chapter. They traveled to national and state conventions all across the U.S. Alice was an active member of the First Baptist Church and a supporter of the One Eighty Teen Center. She was an Avon representative for many years and Alice was also a proud retiree from Farmers and Merchants Bank in Lodi, where she worked for 15 years.
Alice enjoyed traveling. In 1988, she and her sister Phyllis traveled to Europe in celebration of Alice surviving cancer. In 2004, she traveled to Canada and was very happy to have reunited with her childhood friends to celebrate their 80th birthday year together.
In her earlier years she enjoyed boating and fishing with her husband and was always a big San Francisco Giants fan. Her hobbies included watching the Giants games, crocheting, crafts, making cakes, decorating for every season and meeting for coffee at Richmaid with her family and friends.
Alice was a loving mother, mother-in-law and grandmother who inspired us all, mostly by her faith, but also by her peaceful, positive attitude and her love for family and friends. She was very special to us and will be dearly missed.
Alice was preceded in death by her parents, Herb and Olga; son, Danny; husband Phil; brothers, Melvin, Calvin, Lloyd, and Bill; and sister, Phyllis. She is survived by sons, Dale (Mary) of Lodi and Dave (Michele) of Clayton; grandchildren, Stefan (Farrah) and Marisa of Lodi and Brayden of Clayton; as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins.
We would like to thank Brookdale Senior Living in Lodi, Adventist Health LMH and Vitas Healthcare for the care they provided to Alice, our beloved Mother and Grandma. We are also thankful to First Baptist Church for all their faith, guidance and support.
A private family graveside service with be held at Cherokee Memorial Park on Friday March 19th at 11am. There will be an outdoor Memorial Service at First Baptist Church at 12pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations or contributions may be made to The One Eighty Teen Center, 17 West Lockeford Street Lodi, CA 95240 or to First Baptist Church, 267 North Mills Avenue Lodi, CA 95242.
If you would like to sign the guestbook, you can do so online, at lodifuneralhome.com.
Please sign the guest book at lodinews.com/guestbook.