Alice Cadence Read, 28, born 1/14/1991, died with her family at her bedside 7/28/2019. Alice is survived by her mother, Carole Hayes-Read, and her father, Arthur John Read. On her mother’s side she is survived by her uncle Harald Oyen of Mill Valley; her aunt and uncle, Nancy and Mark Svennungsen of Whitefish, MT; and her aunt and uncle, Wallace Arleigh and Diane Hayes of San Jose, CA. On her father’s side she is survived by her aunt Marilyn Read and Rudy Knoop of Sebastopol and Chattanooga,TN respectively; and her aunt and uncle Ge and Charlie Read of Oakland, CA. She was preceded in death by her Grandma Bea (Hayes), her aunt Janet Oyen, and her Grandma Elinore (Read) and her uncle Phillip Read.
Within the past year, Alice’s birth mother, Carla Smith of Portland, ME, and her older sister, Candice Wesaw of FL contacted her through Facebook. They had not gotten to meet face to face but were getting to know each other through social media and long telephone calls. There was to be a family reunion this Christmas. Alice’s birth father, Timothy Wesaw, and her two half brothers Tim and Nick Wesaw, grew up on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Through her aunt Brenda Wesaw, Alice was very excited to learn all about her family’s history. She is additionally survived by her many cherished cousins in both families, and of course her many wonderful friends.
Alice grew up in Healdsburg. She attended Mark West Elementary school (where her mother taught) and transferred to Geyserville Education Park for middle school and high school. She graduated in 2009 and went on to Santa Rosa JC where she worked towards her AA degree. She loved art and took many art classes exploring all the various media including ceramics, drawing, design, painting, wood and metal working, and photography. She worked for several years as an assistant dog groomer in several local shops — she always had a passion for animals, large and small, and always had a menagerie of pets, but her best friend among them was her beloved Diana III, a canine companion release dog who died earlier this year.
Alice loved music and karaoke, hiking, backpacking, tennis, the ocean, and the Sierras where she spent many summers growing up at the family cabin in South Lake Tahoe. She also loved to ski and snowboard when she got the chance.
If you should wish to do so, the family prefers a donation in Alice’s name to Canine Companions for Independence, Santa Rosa, or an animal rescue organization of your choice.
There will be a “Celebration of Life” on Sunday, September 29, 2019 at the Villa Chanticleer Garden in Healdsburg, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
