Alice Marie Gould, age 90, passed away on November 22, 2021 from a -related condition. Visitation will be Friday, November 26 from 4:00 – 8:00 PM with a Rosary at 7:30 PM at Brooks Funeral Care, 7975 University in Clive. A Mass of Christian burial will be held Saturday, November 27 at 11:00 AM at St. Augustin’s Catholic Church, 545 42nd Street in Des Moines and will be presided over by Alice’s son, the Rev. James R. Gould of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia.
Alice Marie Day, was born February 1, 1931 in Chicago, IL, one of 11 children of Roy J. and Alice (nee McGonigal) Day. She attended St. Rita Catholic School and Visitation High School. She earned her nursing diploma through Little Company of Mary Hospital in Chicago to become a Registered Nurse and later worked at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Hospital. At a party, she met James Gould, who was just finishing medical school at Loyola University of Chicago. On their second date, he proposed. They married in 1953, and while he was in the Army Medical Corps and acquiring specialty training in gastroenterology, they lived in Chicago; Boston; Memphis; Aniston, AL; Jackson, MS; Seattle; Alexandria, VA; before finally dropping anchor in Des Moines, Iowa. Of their nine children, all but two, were born in different states.
A devout Roman Catholic, she loved life and lived simply and beautifully. She made friends with everyone she met. And in restaurants and church, she frequently stopped to compliment young families on their gorgeous children.
Alice went back to school in the 1980s to complete her B.S. in Nursing through the College of St. Francis, then returned to nursing full-time at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. She excelled at nursing because she was like a mother to her patients. She was knowledgeable, too – once, she diagnosed a patient who had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, which she recognized after reading about it in a medical journal. She informed the doctor, who called in a rare diseases specialist, who confirmed the diagnosis. The specialist told the patient, “Your nurse has made a very astute diagnosis.”
She was preceded in death by her husband in 2007 and survived by her nine children: Jean M. O’Brien (Patrick) of Denver, CO; Father James R. Gould of Purcellville, VA; Maj. Patrick F. Gould, PhD (Molly) of Middleton, WI; Marie Therese Nolan, PhD (Patrick) of Beltsville, MD; Catherine P. Gould, JD of Dallas, TX; Maureen Dillenburg (Michael) of Lemont, IL; Michael S. Gould (Addy) of West Des Moines; Callista Gould of West Des Moines; and Mary J. Yowell (Philip) of Dallas, TX. She was the proud grandmother of 21 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. She is also survived by a brother, Roy (Pat) Day, of Chicago and a sister, Mary Hansen of Palos Park, IL.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, MI; the Benedictine Sisters of the Abbey of St. Walburga in Virginia Dale, CO; or the Poor Clares in Alexandria, VA..