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Alice Ethel (Birdsley) Durham was born in Lovell, Wyoming on March 19, 1935, to Asa Earl and Alice Ethel Birdsley. She was the 10th of 11 children. She went to the Lord on Dec. 9, 2021, after catching COVID while in the hospital for a broken arm after she fell in her home.
Alice married Russell Guinn and they had Gerry and Russell “Rusty” who now reside in Chico, California, and the Philippine Islands respectively.
After her marriage to Russell ended, she carried on with her life and in 1971 married William “Bill” Durham in Cody. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 8, 2021. They’d moved from Cody to Arkansas and Texas before settling down in Cody again to live out the rest of their days.
Alice started attending the Cody Church of Christ over 50 years ago and has maintained her membership since then. She often said, “God will take care of me.”
She was a tiny, frail looking woman but proved she could keep up with any man in the beet field. She also had jobs as cook for a work crew and as a nanny, in addition to taking care of her own household, children and nieces and nephews, at times.
Alice had a great love for animals and over the years kept dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, turtles, guinea pigs, chickens, peacocks and goats. She loved to watch the birds from the kitchen window.
Preceding her in death were her parents and nine of her siblings. She is survived by her husband Bill; daughter Geri; son Rusty; grandchildren, Micky and Lori Fellows, and Julie Guinn Rogers; and great-grandchildren Jacob Griffin, Jonah Guinn and Jack Murphy; brother Waldo Birdsley; and numerous nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be held at the Cody Church of Christ, 2044 Stampede Avenue, in Cody, on Thursday, Dec. 16, at 10 a.m., with visitation before the service, from 9 to 10 a.m.
Condolences to Alice’s family can be sent on her memorial page at www.BallardFH.com
