ST. CHARLES, Minn. – Alice J. Topness, 85, who with her husband once owned the Stockton Flour Mill, died at Whitewater Health. Her lineage included Mohawk and Lumbee tribes of North Carolina. She was proud of her connection to Cody I and II of the movie “Dances With Wolves.” She attended school in California until her freshman year, then left to help attend to the daily chores for her family. She was in charge of stocking wood for the kitchen stove and heater as well as cooking and cleaning for her mother and half-sisters. She took it upon herself to read and educate herself. She lived around LaCrosse, before she moved to Winona. She found a love for painting and art as a child. She crested her own art and owned the Peddler’s Wagon store in Winona in the 1980s and 90s. She also held consignments in several stores and shops in Winona including Treasures Under Sugar Loaf. Her art was displayed Winona Historical Society. She also showed her work at Rendezvous with Art at Prairie Island Campground. She loved horses and owned and trained thoroughbreds at Big Valley Ranch in Winona. She spent time at the Money Creek Buffalo Ranch. Her later years were spent in St. Charles, where she described her experience as “the most peaceful life she’s had.”
Details: Hoff Funeral Home
1938-2023