Some people might mistake resident, Alice Smith as member of the Decatur House staff. She can often be found leading activities and helping staff and residents. In fact, she often runs the social hour trivia game on Wednesday afternoons, which she enjoys.
Alice was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts before moving to West Springfield. She was one of 5 girls in a close-knit family. She graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Springfield and went on to earn her teaching degree from the University of Massachusetts. That is where she met her husband, Fred. He was a “house boy” at her sorority and the two became very good friends.
However, the love bug bit and they fell in love and were married in 1967. In the beginning, they were both teachers, but back in those days as soon as women started “showing” they weren’t able to teach any longer, so Alice had to give up her career. Meanwhile Fred went on to work for Digital Equipment Corporation (a computer company bought by Hewlett Packard) in sales and marketing.
She and Fred welcomed 3 children together: Jennifer, Amy and Brian, who they raised in Southborough. The family liked to play board gamed together and spend summers at the beach in South Dennis.
Alice’s daughter, Amy described her mom as being very available and involved. “She was a stay-at-home mom most of our lives – driving us to all of our sports, serving as a member of the PTA.”
After the kids were in school, Alice became the Director of Religious Education at her local parish. Once the kids were “grown and flown,” as Alice says, Fred retired and the couple spent their winters in Florida and their summers on Cape Cod in Sandwich.
Alice loved to golf and Amy says that she was a very good golfer. They enjoyed cocktail hour, “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” each evening and loved spending time with friends and family – especially their two grandchildren: Molly and Decklan.
When asked to describe herself, Alice said, “I am religious, family-oriented, was married to Fred for over 50 years before he passed away in 2020. I was a great supportive partner to him. I raised good kids, and I loved to make cookies. Cookies were my thing.”
Her daughter Amy agreed with all of those things and laughed about the cookies, saying they were “addictive and wonderful;” explaining that Alice gave them to everyone who came by the house from landscapers to pest control companies. She added that her mom is kind, thoughtful, and quick-witted. She said that another thing that Alice is famous for is making life-sized Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. She used to give them as baby gifts and has made nearly a hundred of them!”
Nowadays, Alice enjoys jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, golf, movies, TV game shows and reading. She says that she’s enjoying being at Decatur House. “I’m comfortable and settling into the community. The food is good and I’m participating in the activities.”
As the interview was wrapping up, Alice had to leave to attend her monthly “Lobster Roll Luncheon,” a tradition she’s been relishing with 5 other local women for 20 years. I’m definitely not going to keep you from that, Alice! It was a pleasure talking to you.