Alice Irene (Connor) Schuller, a kindhearted, generous woman who made everyone around her feel loved, died July 13, 2026, at age 96.
The daughter of William Mitchell Connor and Mary Ann Virginia (Freeman) Connor, Alice was the youngest of 10 children and five half-siblings, the first having been born in 1889. Alice’s passing is the end of an era for her family.
She was born on Jan. 26, 1930, in Old Fort, N.C., but lived most of her life in Henderson County, N.C., where her parents were sharecroppers during the Great Depression. She attended Flat Rock High School and worked as a bookkeeper at Green River hosiery mill in Tuxedo, N.C., as well as at the Winn-Dixie grocery store on Main Street in Hendersonville. She later worked many years for Henderson County’s food stamp program, from which she retired.
She met Martin Schuller, an immigrant from Austria, at a bowling alley in Hendersonville when they were in their 30s and they married when she was 35. Two children, Jennifer, and Billy, followed. Alice was a woman of strong faith, and she and Martin sang in the choir for many years at West Hendersonville Baptist Church. Alice let young Jennifer talk all through the service and never halted Billy from sliding back and forth across the pews, surely exasperating the other congregants. In her last years, she was a member of Main Street Baptist Church in Hendersonville.
Martin and Alice’s bond was such that Hendersonville residents would sometimes stop their children on the street and say something like, “Do you realize how much your Daddy loves your Mama?” After Martin died of lung cancer at age 53, Alice not only never remarried but did not date. She spent her remaining years with her last living brother, Glenn Connor, who died in 2024 at age 97. Alice loved all her siblings but was especially close to Glenn, who as a boy was given the assignment of taking care of his baby sister, a responsibility he took seriously for the rest of his life.
Everyone was welcome at Alice’s house and friends of Jennifer and Billy would often stop in for food, even if the kids themselves weren’t home. “Thanks, Miss Alice!” the friends would call out as they left. Jennifer and Billy’s friends loved sleeping over, knowing they would get popcorn, Chef Boyardee pizza, and lots of hugs.
To have such a big heart, Alice was an awful lot of fun. She had a quick wit. If someone was slow to answer an easy question like “What’s your address?” she would deadpan: “The questions get harder.” And she was a trash talker when it came to cards or board games, sometimes chanting, “I am the winner!”
She loved sporty cars and her collection over the years included two Mustangs. An excellent driver, she taught her children, plus several of their friends, how to drive a stick-shift. She never once got a ticket.
Everyone said Alice was among the best Southern cooks they knew, and the family would often sit around and recount some of her greatest meals, both in quality and sheer quantity. One Christmas breakfast was so delayed that it turned into “brunch,” and when the family finally sat down at 1:30 p.m., there were no fewer than 14 dishes and three desserts on the table. Once it was polished off, Alice returned to the kitchen to begin cooking the actual Christmas dinner, along with the baking of more desserts. The kitchen was reliably in shambles when she was done cooking.
In later life, she spent much time with her grandsons and great grandchildren, for whom she had infinite patience. When asked why she was letting one grandson bang all the pots together, she said simply: “Because he likes it.” She and Glenn would play Little Red Riding Hood with them for hours. Alice was always the Big, Bad Wolf and she made the kids squeal with fear and delight.
Having come from such a large family, Alice ran around with a long roster of nieces and nephews that were near to her in age. Many of them visited her regularly as she became infirm in her last years. Her children are indebted to them.
Survivors include those dear nieces, nephews and their children and grandchildren, a total well into the hundreds. Immediate family are Alice’s daughter, Jennifer (Schuller) Forsyth of Asheville, N.C., and William “Billy” Schuller of Hendersonville, and their respective spouses, John Forsyth and Tracy Schuller; Billy’s sons, Matthew Schuller of Greenville, N.C., and Kaleb Schuller and Kaleb’s wife, Cheryl, of Hendersonville; and her great-grandchildren, Hazel and Oliver Schuller.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Alice’s memory to Four Seasons Hospice 571 South Allen Road, Flat Rock, NC 28731
A funeral service will be held, Saturday, July 18, 2026 at two o’clock in the afternoon at the Chapel in the Pines of Jackson Funeral Service. Burial will follow the service at Shepherd Memorial Park. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service in the chapel.
Condolences may be sent to the Schuller family at www.jacksonfuneralservice.com or C/O Jackson Funeral Service 1101 Greenville Highway, Hendersonville, NC 28792. Please include the name of the deceased on the condolence.