Grateful for every minute: At 108, ‘Miss Alice’ sees her long life as a precious gift Anita Curtis, The Dallas Morning News At 108, Alice Palmeri is unstoppable. Miss Alice, as she likes to be called, realizes the number of days given to her is a gift, so she tries to fulfill her goal and purpose: to love God first, then others, and to honor all. Miss Alice, born Alice Naegeli, believes the secret to her long life has been how she’s lived each day, making choices and nurturing others. Her mother died of tuberculosis when she was 3. Her father’s widowed sister moved to their home to care for Alice and her siblings. Her father, a Swiss immigrant, designed and installed stained glass windows in many churches in Missouri, Canada and around Chicago.