Alice Valeria Preston

PRESTON, Alice Valeria, died peacefully on October 15, 2022, after a five year battle with dementia. She was born in Richmond, Virginia on May 22, 1947. Her parents, Louisa D. and Robert S. Preston, raised their family of five in Goochland, Virginia. Alice graduated high school from Thomas Jefferson and received an Associates of Arts degree from Marjorie Webster Junior College in Washington, D.C.

Alice was a master gardener, loved nature and cared for the environment. She was a passionate activist for women's rights and domestic violence. In 1974, while living in Wales, she co-established the organization Cardiff Women's Action Group which created the first refuge in Wales for abused women and children. In 1975, she and seven other women delivered the first ever petition to the European Parliament calling for paid maternity and paternity leave. After moving back to Virginia in 1977, she co-established the non-profit organization Virginians Against Domestic Violence and Richmond Domestic Violence Project Inc.

As a dedicated single mother, she raised her two daughters in Little Rock, Arkansas and later moved back to Richmond, Virginia in 1999. One of her proudest accomplishments while in Little Rock, was managing the 10 year restoration of her grandparents's 1913 Detroit Electric Car. It is currently on display at the Virginia Transportation Museum in Roanoke, Virginia for the public to enjoy.

Alice was outgoing, courageous and had a beautiful smile. She had a recognizable strong spirit and encouraged independent thinking in others. She was preceded in death by her brother, Bobby; and parents. She is survived by her two daughters, Gwenedd and Sian; two grandchildren, Thomas and June; and three siblings, Louisa, Carolyn and Freddy.

Her life will be celebrated at an 11 a.m. graveside service on October 28 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Goochland with a reception to immediately follow. In lieu of flowers, donations to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc, P.O. Box 97166, Washington, D.C. 20090-7166, are kindly preferred.