Alice Powers McElhone

1929 - 2022

Alice Powers McElhone
Alice was born in Portland, Oregon on August 23, 1929 to Trista Powers (née Wenger) and Treval Powers. She graduated from Hinsdale High School in Illinois and attended University of Colorado at Boulder where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. While in college, she happened to meet a fellow Hinsdalean, Frederick Halsey McElhone III (Fritz) and they were soon inseparable and very much in love. Following Fritz's graduation, they returned to Hinsdale to be married and start a family. Hinsdale was a special place for the McElhone family - Fritz's father had been the Village President, Fritz and Alice lived in the house in which Fritz had been born, and they developed a number of friendships which would last their lifetimes.
For many years, Alice focused her attention on caring for her four children, being a loving, supportive wife and volunteering in the community. When Fritz's career sent them east in 1967, they settled in New Canaan, CT and became active members of the Congregational Church of New Canaan. Alice began her professional career at Pitney Bowes where she became intrigued by business and, specifically, technical documentation and communications. She was later a member of the Society of Technical Communications and worked as a technical writer at Dictaphone and Exxon Office Systems. The more Alice learned about business, the more she knew she was ready to launch her own. Her first venture, UnCommon Games, was a boutique outlet for unique games and toys. She then created Benchmark Publications, a small book publisher and communications firm which she would run for nearly 35 years. The one constant in all of her efforts was the involvement of family - some of her children, and even her grandchildren, spent time working for the companies and Fritz was always at her side as her CFO/Partner. After losing Fritz in 2002, Alice continued to run Benchmark from her home in New Canaan and then from Bloomfield, NJ where she moved in 2007.
Alice filled every stage of her life with music. She loved listening to all forms of music and enjoyed playing piano and singing for friends, family, or just for a quiet moment by herself. She sang with her mother, her own children, and then with her grandchildren. She wrote and published more than 100 songs, many of which were performed in songwriter showcases and New York Cabarets. She was a well-known composer and lyricist under her nom de plume, Powers McElhone. The highlight of her musical creativity came at the age of 82 with the production of her musical, Wicked Moon, a show she and her musical partner, Varick Bacon, brought to the 4th Wall Musical Theater in Bloomfield and the York Theater in New York City.
Alice is survived by her son Frederick Halsey McElhone IV (Mickey) of Golden, CO and his wife Victoria (Bond); daughter Sarah Alice McElhone Moriarty of Eastham, MA and her husband Thomas; son Scott Finley McElhone of Surf City, NJ and his wife Janice (O'Mara); seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her son Jeffrey Thomas McElhone (1999), her husband Fritz (2002), her brother William Treval Powers (2013) and her parents.
Memorial donations may be made to the "Department of Psychiatry of the Yale School of Medicine" to support research aimed at promoting the resilience and recovery of individuals diagnosed with mental illness. Checks may be sent to Matthew Farrenkopf, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 7611, New Haven, CT 06519. A private memorial service will be held at a later date. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Brandywine Living at Toms River and Grace Hospice.