February 1, 1937-September 16, 2022
Alice Vivian Smith, (affectionately known as “Aunt Alice”), died on September 16, 2022 after a long illness. She was age 85.
Aunt Alice was born on February 1, 1937, at Hillman Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama to Chloris Sawyer Smith and Oswald Wallace Smith. Alice lived in Birmingham until shortly after the outbreak of World War II, at which time she moved with her Mother to Montgomery, where her Mother was employed with the Greyhound Bus Company, routing recent draftees to boot camps across the South, and scheduling troop movements of American Sailors and Soldiers throughout the Southern States.
Aunt Alice attended St. Mary’s of Loretta School, (the predecessor to Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School), from the 7th grade until her graduation from Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School in 1955.
After High School graduation, Aunt Alice attended college at Los Altos Junior College in Los Altos, California, (now Foothill College). While attending Junior College, Aunt Alice was employed as the Executive Secretary to the Pacific Regional Sales Manager for The Ralston Purina Company in San Francisco, California. Aunt Alice was later offered the same position with the Regional Sales Manager of The Ralston Purina Company’s Atlanta, Georgia Regional Sales Office. As fate would have it, however, while stopping off in Montgomery to visit with her mother on the way to The Ralston Purina Company’s Atlanta Regional Sales Office, she received a call from Wynton M. “Red” Blount, who was himself seeking an Executive Assistant at Blount Brothers’ Montgomery, Alabama headquarters. Aunt Alice worked directly for Mr. Blount at Blount Brothers until Mr. Blount’s retirement. Aunt Alice believed that her time as Mr. Blount’s Executive Assistant was one of the highlights of her professional life.
Aunt Alice later attended Jones School of Law, where she earned her law degree, and after Mr. Blount’s retirement, was employed as a Legislative Analyst for the Alabama Legislative Reference Service until her own retirement in the late 1990’s.
Aunt Alice was a former member of the Young Catholic Adult Club in Los Altos, California, and a current Member of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, (an organization for which she served as President for three consecutive years), a Medallion Member of Civitan International, (which sponsored the Special Olympics, one of her lifelong passions), St. Anne’s Guild of St. Peter’s Catholic Church, and a lifelong parishioner of St. Peter’s Catholic Church. And indeed, for her lifelong service to the Roman Catholic Church, she was awarded the Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice Medal in 2007, the highest honor a Catholic lay person can receive from the Pope.
Aunt Alice was predeceased by her Mother and Father; her Brother, Wallace Lee Smith; and her Nephew, Wallace Lee Smith, Jr. She is survived by her Niece, Lynn Smith Talkington (Scott) of Auburn, Alabama; a Great Nephew, Michael Sanders (Lindsay) of Seattle, Washington; two Great Nieces, Chelsea Smith of Albany, Georgia and Catherine Lauren Talkington of Auburn, Alabama; and a Great Great Nephew, Gideon Lee Sanders.
Aunt Alice loved the institutions of the Roman Catholic Church and St. Peter’s Catholic Church in particular, her many wonderful lifelong friends, her family, her dogs, and especially Alabama Football.
Aunt Alice’s funeral services will be conducted at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Friday, September 23, 2022, with visitation to occur at 1:00 pm at the Church, the Funeral Mass to follow at 2:00 pm in the Church Sanctuary, and internment thereafter at Greenwood Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama. Father Saleth Mariadoss will preside over Aunt Alice’s Funeral Services with Father F. Charles Troncale Concelebrating.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that Aunt Alice’s many friends make contributions in her memory to the Dominican Monastery of St. Jude in Marbury, Alabama; The Burse Club of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, (which provides Scholarships to Catholic Seminary Candidates seeking to Join the Priesthood); and St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
Aunt Alice will be deeply missed by her many lifetime friends and her family.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.WhiteChapel-GreenwoodFH.com for the SMITH family.
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