Clarice Leona Alsleben

Clarice Leona Alsleben, age 90 of Green Isle, passed away on Sunday, February 1, 2026, at the VA home in Minneapolis. Memorial Service will be held Friday, February 6, 2026 at 11:00 A.M. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Green Isle, MN. Visitation will be held that morning at the church from 9-11 A.M. Interment will be in High Island Cemetery, New Auburn, MN.

Clarice was born on August 26, 1935, in Blackduck, Minnesota, to Leo and Clara (Lohmann) Fisher. When Clarice was just 11 months old, her father passed away tragically. From an early age, she learned how to move forward through hardship with quiet resilience—a quality that would define her life.

Clarice was baptized and confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church in Blackduck and graduated from Blackduck High School in 1953. Shortly after graduation, she packed a suitcase and followed her own road south to New Auburn, Minnesota. It was there, while on a date at George’s Ballroom in New Ulm, that she met Hillard Alsleben—after he noticed her dancing and asked her to join him when her date stepped away. Clarice and Hillard were married on October 23, 1954, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Auburn. He had a way of testing her patience, and she had a way of letting him know it. Together, they raised five children. They shared 62 years of marriage until Hillard’s passing in 2016.

Clarice stayed home while the kids were young and later worked outside the home, spending many years at the Anchor Glass factory in Shakopee. When Hillard’s health declined, she stepped in as the family’s main provider, making sure everyone was cared for and the household kept running.

Though the furniture in her home rarely matched and the chairs often wobbled, her house was always open. Anyone who walked through her door could count on being fed—and there was always dessert. Holidays were a joyful kind of chaos in their small home, with crockpots crowding the counters, trays of cookies and stacks of lefse covering every surface, cards being played, children running and laughing, and family filling every room. Somehow, everyone fit into the home Clarice filled with warmth. Her love was unconditional—always offering an open door and a warm meal.

She was a gifted creator and rarely sat still. Clarice was an accomplished quilter, seamstress, and jewelry artist. Her granddaughters delighted in the hundreds of tiny doll clothes she sewed by hand. She also found joy in baking, ironing, collecting and sorting coins, and other small, quiet activities that others might overlook. Blessed be her memory. She is survived by her children: Kathy (George) Lenz of Chaska; Lana (John) Woehler of Arlington; Penny (Greg) Kube of Norwood Young America; and Beth Alsleben (Jamie Binder) of Glencoe; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; brothers Jimmy (Carol) Steinberg and Dale Steinberg; and many relatives and friends

She was preceded in death by her husband, Hillard Alsleben; sons Mark and Clark Alsleben; grandsons William Kube and Brent Alsleben; great-grandson Parker Alsleben; her parents, Leo and Clara Fisher; stepfather Julius Steinberg; siblings Kenneth Lohmann, Eldora (Daryl) Gunderson, and Wanda (Marlin) Manning; in-laws Henry and Alvina Alsleben; and brothers- and sisters-in-law Raymond (Verna) Alsleben and Herbert (Dolores) Alsleben, and many other relatives and loved ones. Clarice was the best of us—not in grand gestures, but in the ways that mattered most: as a mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. She could fix just about anything with a needle and thread, a swig of blackberry brandy, a sharp glance, and a little bit of sugar.