Alice Marie Almond

May 20, 1938 – November 10, 2013

Alice Almond, Mother, mentor, fashionista, Red Hatter, tarbish player, champion baker and one of Cape Breton’s greatest advocates passed away November 10 at the age of 75.

As her children we are heartbroken with her sudden passing and wish we could have had more time with her. We take comfort in the everyday memories we have of Mom and feel truly blessed to have grown up in the wonderful family that she and Dad made for us – creating memories that will stay with us for life.

Mom was born in Reserve Mines and was the daughter of the late Walter and Veronica (Fahey) Finlayson. She married our Dad, Michael, in 1960 and together they had 50 wonderful years of marriage before Dad passed away just two years ago. They lived in Boston shortly after marrying but moved back to Cape Breton in the late 60s to raise our family. They complemented each other well, socialized often and loved to go dancing almost as much as we enjoyed watching them together. Mom often said Dad was the wind beneath her wings that allowed her to fulfill her career and community aspirations.

Mom’s working life spanned more than 50 years during which time she held a number of increasingly senior administrative roles in the private and public sector before retiring just five years ago. For most people the countdown to retirement begins in your 50s – maybe 60s but Mom loved her work too much to quit. Undaunted by challenge, Mom spent the bulk of her career working for the federal government to boost employment in Cape Breton. She worked tirelessly for decades creating programs to train and retrain people, to assist individuals find meaningful work and with organizations to create opportunities for Cape Bretoners. She made a difference for so many people. For Mom, it wasn’t just a job – she loved to see people reach their potential and gave so many the confidence and support they needed at difficult times in their lives. We are and always will be incredibly proud of Mom and all that she accomplished in her professional career devoting her life to helping others.

She gave willingly and often to her community over the years volunteering for countless organizations including the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Task Force, the Association for Safer Cape Breton Communities, the Advisory Committee on Queen's Counsel Appointments, the IWK Hospital, Junior Achievement and was the founder of the Arlene MacNeil Trust Fund Foundation.

For her efforts she received many honours: First Lady of the Year, Beta Sigma Phi International, 1995; Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation; the Merit Award for Public Service Entrepreneurship; Award for Outstanding Commitment to Community Service from the Nova Scotia Director General and was one of the top 10 finalists for the Canadian Women’s Mentor Awards. In 1999, she was recognized in the Who’s Who of Canadian Women publication.

Despite a busy career and volunteer life, Mom had lots of hobbies and a wonderful circle of friends. She was the founder and an active member of the Cape Breton Chapter of the Red Hat Society, enjoyed a game of Tarbish a couple of times a week at one of the local gathering spots, was a bit of a political junkie and in recent years took up gardening. She loved to entertain friends at home and turned her garage into a make shift hall complete with enough tables and chairs to host card tournaments and parties. She loved to shop and found the search for a bargain exhilarating – a passion she passed along to us.

She was well-known for her cooking and baking. Mom was always making something for someone – our family, the local clergy, a neighbour, a sick friend, or her fellow card players. She was one of these people who could take one gigantic bowl and then all of a sudden on the counter would appear four pies, three pans of squares and a batch of tea biscuits, all before most of us were out of bed. And she made the best pancakes hands down.

She was the most wonderful Mother. She was always there when we needed advice or support dropping everything on a dime when someone called. She taught us to be selfless and to see the bigger picture. She was the ultimate optimist who believed attitude was everything. We often said that Mom was the champion of the underdog taking the side of the person most needing her support. She was strong willed and opinionated (but in a nice way) and you never wondered where she stood on any issue. She could stretch a dollar and ran our home as efficiently as she managed her career. She regularly visited our relatives in Boston, loved cars (especially her current convertible), the Casino, travelling, American Idol and dark rum and cherished her dog Bella, her constant companion at home. She recently opened a part of her home to three international students who became instant friends to Mom.

She relished her role as Gramma and never hesitated to overstep boundaries and dish out advice. That’s why we loved her. Like she did with her own children, she challenged her grandchildren to work hard and give their best effort. She took personal pride in their academic and athletic accomplishments and always took their side in any debate with one of us. It was a right of passage in our family that each of her granddaughters learned to make their first pie under her watchful eye.

Left to grieve are her five children: Charlene MacKinnon (Kevin), Halifax; Natalie Paris (James), Sydney; Deanna Gallaway (Dave), Halifax; Allison Donovan (Blair), Halifax and Michael Almond (Krista) Halifax, eight grandchildren – Julia, Sara, Clara, Jarrod, Lauren, Taylor, Bradley and Julianne and one great-grandchild, Lucas. She is also survived by a sister Nan Murphy (Arnold), a brother Melvin Finlayson (Pearl), several nieces and nephews, cousins and friends. Beside her parents and Dad, Mom was predeceased by her brother Charlie Finlayson and grandson Matthew Fitzgerald.

Visitation for Mom will be at T.W. Curry Parkview Chapel on Wednesday, November 13, 2013 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. with a funeral mass Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Sydney River.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation. We extend our sincerest thanks to Dr. Paul Murphy, Mom’s family doctor for many years, and to the doctors and nurses at the QEII Hospital in Halifax who provided exceptional care to Mom during her most recent stay.

On line condolences to www.twcurry.com