Helen Suzette Alsop

1922 - 2022

It is with great sadness that we announce that Helen Suzette 'Toodie' Alsop died peacefully at home in Tyringham in her 99th year. Born on October 24, 1922 in New York City, she was the daughter of David Percy Morgan and Alma de Gersdorff Morgan. She attended the Chapin School in New York, St. Timothy's School in Maryland, and Radcliffe College.

In 1943, Toodie married Robert Chapin Alsop of Tyringham, an Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet. She continued her studies at Radcliffe while Robert served in Europe, graduating with a BA in History of Art from Harvard College. Toodie and Robert were together for 79 years and raised four children.

In New York, Toodie studied at the National Academy School of Fine Arts for seven years, where she was awarded prizes in painting and sculpture. On moving to the Berkshires, she became a familiar figure in her straw hat with brushes and watercolor pad in hand, painting the pastoral landscape and skies of Tyringham and Berkshire County.

Toodie's paintings have been exhibited and collected in Berkshire County and beyond. She was an active member of the Hop Brook Club. Her drawings were a feature of the annual Tyringham Topics. She served on the Board and taught painting at Gould Farm in Monterey. Toodie and Robert spent winter months in Bradenton, Florida, where she continued to paint.

Toodie was predeceased by her daughter Adele, and is survived by her husband, Robert, her daughters, Suzette Jones of Easthampton, MA and Christina Pierce of Montgomery, MA, her son Denny of Stockbridge, MA, nine grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.

A service will be held at Trinity Church in Lenox on Friday, August 5, at 11:00 A.M.