Page 16 - Senior Link Magazine Spring 2020- Online Magazine

HONORING SENIORS
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Senior Senior Alice Smith

Lessons from

Miss Alice

by Emily Merriott

First, Alice taught moved to Westover Air Force Base
me about passion. in Massachusetts, where their first
From a young daughter, Holly, was born in 1969.
age, Alice was The family then moved to Houston,
passionate about where their second daughter, Amy,
every activity she was born. During this time, Alice was
did. Growing up in a stay-at-home mom, loving raising
Roanoke, Virginia, her little girls.
she loved sledding
and skating. She In 1977, they moved to Lubbock,
loved flowers, and Alice began volunteering at her
and she was very daughters’ school and at church.
creative. She also Alice and Paul also participated in
craft shows because of their mutual
was very involved
W hen I was in elementary in school politics. She also loved creativity and love of art. They
developed lasting friendships in
piano and quickly became the pianist
school, I went to every
their community, especially at their
Vacation Bible School that
her passions, Alice decided to major
I could. At one of the performances, for her high school choir. Because of church, which came around them in
my parents sat in the audience next in English and minor in Music and times of need. When Paul developed
to Alice Smith, the pianist for the Psychology at Baylor University. Alice a debilitating disease, Lewy Body,
church hosting that Vacation Bible had such passion and dedication for a form of Parkinson’s, Alice began
School. At the time, we were looking these activities that she traveled three to garden for her own therapy. The
for a piano teacher for me, and this days by train to Baylor, having never couple took care of each other until
was the perfect opportunity. When visited before, determined to pursue 2010, when Paul passed away from
I started taking piano lessons as a her interests. pancreatic cancer. During this time,
fourth grader, I was too stubborn Alice valued the great love their many
and wanted to simply get by in After graduating, Alice began to build friends showed their family. She was
music rather than learn to play the connections with many people in her proud of Paul’s faith and acceptance
piano well. However, through taking community. She met “a handsome Air of his journey. Alice took comfort in
lessons from Miss Alice over the Force guy, Paul, who swept me off my the community; she remembered how
years, I have learned not only about feet”. Soon they married and moved she and Paul had ministered to others
what makes a great pianist but also to California, where Paul trained and knew that she would continue to
what makes a great person. to be a navigator on B-52s. After serve.
Paul’s training was complete, they

16 Lubbock Senior Link