Category: Memories

Testimonials

Alice inspired me

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Susan Tordella-Williams: I met Alice in the twilight of her life, through First Church Unitarian in Littleton. We shared a passion for social justice. Around 2012 or so we took a class together on White People Challenge Racism at Cambridge Adult Ed, and  drove together to the class each week. I got to know Alice better. She told me about her career, that in the 1950s, she trained as a computer programmer, which was expected to be “women’s work” because of the keyboarding required !!! I love that she was a pioneer on what must’ve been a difficult journey. I often

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Alice and the UUUM

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Larry Lickteig: Alice joined me and other FCUers on several Saturdays at UUUM  in Roxbury, MA, where we were volunteers doing projects or trips with about 30 kids, 6 to 11 y/o. She loved it, but thought the kids’ energy might overpower her. So she arranged with The Discovery Museums and Not Your Average Joe’s restaurant in Acton and the UUUM to provide an excursion for the kids. They would arrive at the large interactive science  museum on a bus, have NYAJ’s pizza and soda, and have an amazing time interacting with the exhibits for hours. This went on for several

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Memories from a granddaughter

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My grandma Alice: On Friday morning, February 19th, the day after my 22nd birthday, my grandma Alice died of a heart attack at 87 years old. Some of my friends might remember her visiting Wellesley campus: an unassuming woman, energetic, lively, just under 5 feet tall (not including her wild white curls), equipped with plastic Ziplocs full of Black Lives Matter pins to give to me and my friends. That’s how I remember her. When I got the news, I risked a Lyft (she refused to use Uber because of the company’s questionable ethics) to Lasell Village, where she lived

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My Third Mother

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Marjorie Salvadon:  I’m writing with the sad news of Alice Schafer’s transition. I always say that I was lucky to have had Alice, my third mother, who entered my life 22 years ago to accompany me in adulthood, always supporting me as I learned the dance of juggling teaching, parenting, writing. From the first time I met Alice, I knew she was a special person: friendly, curious, intellectually alive, and someone with strong political convictions who didn’t lean “Democrat” or “Republican” — she leaned toward justice. One example among many: in the 1960s Alice and Bert (her husband) were deeply

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Last call with mom

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Scott Schafer:  Alice picked up after a few rings the last time I called her, which was a pleasant surprise. It had been hard to reach her lately. We didn’t have a very long conversation and there wasn’t much substance to it, but I was glad we’d connected. She said she was good, and although I thought her speech was slurred she genuinely seemed in good spirits. There was no question that she was slowing down, though. We talked about gardening. Micah played piano for her. I told her I loved her, and then I had to go. Four days

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