Alice MacLeod

December 8, 1925 – September 17, 2020

Alice Maxwell MacLeod (nee Burbidge) passed away peacefully September 17, 2020 at Southbridge Roseview in Thunder Bay. Alice was born in Thunder Bay on December 8, 1925 to Marion Louise Burbidge (nee Griffin) and George Harrison Burbidge along with her sister Mary Louise Burbidge (Taylor) and brother Harrison Burbidge. She was predeceased by her husband William John Russell (Jack) MacLeod, her brother Harrison and parents, Louise and George Burbidge. Alice is survived by her children Robin (Lauri Sadko), Leslie (David Kilgour), Ian (Sabine) and Rory (Kristine) and her grandchildren Scott, Nicholas, Rachel, Mitchell, Stuart and her great grand daughter, Alice.

Alice was an elegant Renaissance Woman. She was a wife, mother, a grandmother, great-grandmother, a high school teacher, an artist, a musician, a curler, a swimmer, a skier, a bridge player and a golfer. She did it all - and did it so very well too. She graduated from Port Arthur Collegiate Institute where she met and eventually married her high school sweetheart, Jack (Zeke) May 1949. They had a long life together, reaching almost 70 years of marriage. Alice attended the University of Western Ontario and graduated with a degree in Secretarial Science.

Alice and Jack lived for many years on Shamrock Crescent where they raised their four children. Alice led a very busy and creative life. She worked full time as a teacher spending much of her career at Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute until her retirement in 1982. She shared her love of outdoor activities with her children and taught them all to ski - both downhill and cross country. Many a fun weekend was spent on the slopes of Candy Mountain and Loch Lomond. Alice and Jack bought a camp on Hawkeye Lake in 1962. It was a sanctuary for Alice and a lively place for all the children and their friends for summers and many weekend outings.

Alice made sure that each of her children were confident and strong swimmers so that they could enjoy water sports safely. Many a summer weekend was spent taking swimming lessons at Hawkeye Lake. Alice loved swimming herself and spent many hours going up and down the bay getting in her "laps" or embarrassing her children by outpacing them on the annual "swim across the lake". Quiet paddles in the canoe or picnic boat rides on the pontoon boat or playing music with the neighbours were also some of Alice's favourite activities. Alice was an extremely creative person and you could see that in her love for water colour painting. Frequent car trips to find old, decrepit barns, quiet streams or bits of Dog Lake driftwood would be taken with Alice to get pictures to provide inspiration for her paintings. She was an active member of Lakehead Visual Arts as well as the Thunder Bay Water Colour Society. Her "Scottish Poppies" and "Tiger Lilies" grace the walls of the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital.

Alice shared a love of music with Jack and practiced many hours on her classical guitar. She invested in an electric guitar and amplifier and became the bass player for musical group "Hawkeye" that included her best friends from Hawkeye Lake. Mom and the band would entertain people at the Dragon Boat Festival, Benny Birch's Birthday Party and at many senior and retirement homes.

Alice and Jack enjoyed their winter trips to Mesa, Arizona where they avoided the Thunder Bay winters, were active in golf, music and cultivated many rich friendships. Alice continued her painting lessons and took many outings to get the perfect picture of Arizona scenery for her next creation.

When Alice and Jack needed help in the last six years, we found our darling caregiver Myrna who lived with them at the condo and then continued to provide extra care at Roseview. Two other wonderful caregivers, Barbara and Imelda would relieve Myrna when required. Thanks to these fantastic ladies, Mom and Dad were able to stay in the lovely condo as long as possible and continue to live a very full life at Roseview. They were with us until Covid-19 prevented visits to Roseview.

With the onset of dementia, Alice moved to Southbridge Roseview. Shortly after, Jack joined her there. They spent their last years together at Roseview where they were provided a safe and comfortable place to live and were well entertained. Heartfelt thanks go to everyone at Roseview for the care and attention they gave to Alice and Jack.

The unique circumstances of the Global Pandemic and restrictions on gatherings of family and friends have placed a challenge on all of us at this time as we determine how to celebrate the life of our beloved Alice (aka "Hen" "Mom", "Knit-Knit" and "Grandma") and all that she gave to her family and friends. One thing all of us can do at this time is to live life as Alice would - get out and enjoy your favourite activities, celebrate family and good friends, don't get too fussed about small details and have the best time while you can. Some wise words from Alice which have held true are that "nothing is ever really lost to you" (those words were used many a time in the MacLeod house when something was misplaced!). Let us all keep that in mind at this time - Alice is not really lost to us. She is with Jack now and her spirit and joy for life are with all of us each day. We will all meet again someday!

Donations to the Alzheimer Society or the Cancer Society in memory of Alice would be greatly appreciated.

Online condolences may be made through
www.nwfainc.com