Alice Tallmadge Mason

Alice was born Sept. 8, 1925, in Allentown, PA, to Alice Parker Tallmadge and John A. Tallmadge, both of whom were educators. She attended Oberlin College, graduating in 1947 with an AB degree in Elementary Education, class of 1947. She began her teaching career at The Swain School in Allentown, PA, before moving to Pittsburgh where she met her future husband, John H. Mason, a PhD student at Carnegie-Mellon University. They were married on July 11, 1953. Following completion of John’s graduate studies, they moved to Basking Ridge, NJ, where John worked as an industrial chemist for Union Carbide. In 1962, John took a job with Carborundum in Niagara Falls, NY, and they made their home in the Buffalo area, initially living in Grand Island, then settling in Clarence.

In addition to her family, Alice’s pride and passion was serving the Clarence community, where she was an active participant in numerous school and community organizations. She was a devoted member of the Clarence Presbyterian Church, where she served as both a Deacon and an Elder. For several years, she helped manage a community event calendar, was active in several book groups, as and was a subscriber to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. She served as President of the WNY Oberlin Alumni Organization, and was on the board of the Buffalo chapter of the American Association of University Women. Alice also was a substitute teacher in the Clarence and Orchard Park School Districts and taught second grade at the Kadimah Academy of Buffalo.

Alice’s favorite activities were gardening was swimming, and she loved holidays with her family in Ocean City, MD. Alice and John learned to ski and were members of Buffalo/Sitzmarker Ski Club for many years.

John, Alice’s husband of 44 years, died in December of 1997. In May of 2011, Alice moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina to live closer to her daughter and grandchildren.

Alice is survived by her daughter Beth (Mason) O’Dell, her husband Mark O’Dell, and grandchildren Lauren, Daniel, and Alexandra, all of Wake Forest, NC; and by her son Parker Mason and his wife Lora Fassett Mason of Seattle, WA, granddaughters Darby Mason of New York City, and Sylvie Mason of Seattle and Durham, NC.