by Laurel | August 3rd, 2009
Alice Houston McGarvie Smith
Alice Houston McGarvie Smith
1898 – 1981
In this photo, taken somewhere in Holyoke and dated from the early 1920’s, are my grandparents, shortly before their marriage. My grandmother would be 111 years old today had she been still living. Born in Scotland on 03 August 1898, Alice traveled to American on the S. S. Pretorian (of the Allan Line), arriving in Boston on January 11, 1913. As did many immigrants, she worked both in the mills and in domestic service until her marriage in the mid1920’s. She was a life-long member of Grace Church and spent most of her younger years as a resident of Churchill (a Holyoke neighborbood, if you are unfamiliar with the name). She had been a member of the Eastern Star and Clan McLaren. Alice died in 1981 and, like most of my family, is buried in Forestdale Cemetery. Alice was a sweet, generous woman and we all still miss her very much.
