Alice J. Wittig
Alice Jacobsen Wittig, 82, wife of the Rev. Emil C. Wittig, was called home to glory on Wednesday, June 1, 2011. She went to sleep peacefully at Tuomey Regional Medical Center and woke up in heaven, where she now lives with her Lord and Savior!
Born March 24, 1929, in Bristol, Tenn., she was a daughter of the late Rev. Louis A. and Viola Wagoner Jacobsen. Raised in a Godly home, her father was a Baptist preacher who also published a monthly Christian magazine, The Evangel, which was distributed worldwide for more than 35 years. Mrs. Wittig attended Columbia Bible College in Columbia (now Columbia International University), graduating in 1950. It was there she met her future husband, Emil, and they were married July 28, 1950. Mrs. Wittig served faithfully by her husband's side as a pastor's wife for 45 years, until his retirement in 1997. She was a choir member, pianist, and Sunday school teacher, but it was the children's ministry AWANA that she loved most. AWANA stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15). Beginning in the late 1950s, she was an AWANA commander for more than 40 years. Upon moving to South Carolina in 1969, she discovered there were no AWANA clubs in the state. In the fall of 1969, Mrs. Wittig started the first AWANA clubs in South Carolina at Bible Fellowship Church in Sumter.
Mrs. Wittig loved her family and friends, but most of all, she loved her Lord. When she learned three years ago that she had a terminal illness, she continued to have peace and joy because she knew her final destination! It was her prayer and desire that anyone who does not have that peace and joy and is uncertain where they will spend eternity, will pick up a Bible and read the following verses: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8 and Romans 10:9-10 and 13.
Looking forward to joining her in addition to her husband of 60 years, are three sons, Steve Wittig and Donny Wittig, both of Sumter, and Dave Wittig and his wife, Donna, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.; a dear sister, Suzanne Jacobsen of Jacksonville, Fla.; five grandchildren, Anne Marie Wittig McKoy (Jason) of Sandy Run, Stephanie Wittig of Sumter, Ashley Wittig Barnett (Luther) of Louisville, Ky., Daniel Wittig and Jessica Wittig, both of Jacksonville Beach; and four great-grandchildren, Blake McKoy, Kaylee McKoy, Taylor Barnett and Zoey Barnett.
Mrs. Wittig has joined her parents in heaven as well as two sisters who preceded her, Anne Jacobsen and Dorothy Sidebotham.
The family would like to express gratitude to the staff of Tri-County Hospice for their wonderful care these last few months, especially Elaine Mack, Lisa Blair, and Sarah Haile-Hill.
A memorial service and celebration of Mrs. Wittig's life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Westside Baptist Church, 554 Pinewood Road, Sumter, with the Rev. Emil C. Wittig and the Rev. Dave Wittig officiating.
The family will receive friends immediately following the service at the church.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Columbia International University, 7435 Monticello Road, Columbia, SC 29203, or to AWANA Clubs International, 1 E. Bode Road, Streamwood, IL 60107.
Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com.
Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386.