Alice Ann Cantelow
Feb. 22, 1924-Aug. 22, 2015
former Livermore resident, California

A Celebration of Alice Ann Cantelow, one of God's very faithful servants and the founder of Shepherd's Gate, has begun in Heaven! After a very long illness, she passed away in Port Townsend, Washington, surrounded by family. She was 91.

Alice Ann was dearly loved and respected by so many. She touched everyone she met with her enthusiasm for life, fun nature, passion for the natural world, and devoted service to God.

An athletic standout at the private girls school she attended (Anna Head), Alice Ann went on to earn bachelor's degrees at UC Berkeley and Cal Poly. For two years of World War II she served as a radiowoman and chauffeur. After raising 3 girls, with active involvement in their Girl Scout troops and schools, she went on to teach, be a park ranger (Grand Canyon) and naturalist (Sunol Regional Park).

Her greatest achievement, though, was Shepherd's Gate, a shelter for battered and homeless women and children which she founded in Livermore at age 60 and ran for nearly 10 years. Lives of more than 11,000 residents have been changed as a result. Alice Ann retired from Shepherd's Gate in 1996, but was not idle long. She began a ministry with Pat Ely, tirelessly bringing Jesus to children in Bay Area neighborhoods, with help from her donkey, Samuel, and his cart.

Alice Ann will be missed dearly by so many, including her three daughters Ann Cantelow (Tom Miller) of Colorado, Alice Cantelow (Lester Lubetkin) of Placerville, and Phoebe Huffman (Darby) of Washington, and her four granddaughters, Xoe, Camille, Kaitlin, and Eliza.

A fourth generation Californian (born in Oakland) with roots dating to the Gold Rush, Alice Ann was preceded in death by her parents, Elwood Wellman Wright and Estelle Eliza Cook Wright.