Alice was born in Austria in 1924. She escaped with her family from the Nazis and eventually settled in New York. After college Alice danced, wrote copy and explored life as a young woman until settling into a career in public relations. In 1958 she married Wylder, inherited his two young sons, and moved to California. After retiring she moved to Boca and rediscovered her zest for ballet, yoga, and socializing.She leaves behind countless friends and relatives who loved her. Memorial services will be held at the Beth Israel Memorial Chapel in Delray. Sunday Oct.13th at 10:00AM.

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Published by Sun-Sentinel on Oct. 9, 2019.

Memories and Condolences
for Alice Modine

12 Entries

Juliana Modine

March 16, 2020

When I met Austin, one of the first things he told me was that he had a grandma who lived near him. I immediately thought, wow, how magical having a grandma so close.

I remember going to Disney World on the Carousel of Progress ride. I watched it very carefully and loved the last scene with the whole family, including the grandma together in the living room.

After a few dates with Austin, he said that Alice would love to meet me. She took us to a French restaurant. I was nervous because I wanted her to like me. At the end of the dinner, I was so happy. It felt like we knew each other for a long time.

Eventually, Austin and I got married. Alice and I became extremely close. I am originally from Brazil. I moved here by myself when I was 21 years old. When were from another world, we seek to fill a hole from not having family present. Alice filled it with so much joy.

Alice and I became BFFs. We would go shopping, visit her brother (uncle) Ted and (aunt) Gerda, movies, and the ballet. I often cooked for Alice. She loved Taco Tuesdays at my house. After each dinner, I always put on a fashion documentary and we would watch it together.

Alice was special to Austin and I the cherry on the cake the music for our party.

Although time has gone by since Alice has passed, I still feel pain from not having her around. When I get the mail, no longer do I see her driving to our house to ask me out to an adventure at the ballet or beauty parlor. The nights are quieter without her emergency calls to Austin asking him to fix her printer. I loved it when she would show up at our door unannounced. It was fun.

I used to go to her house almost every day to check on her. We would have a glass of wine and she would tell me about her day.

Alice was proud to be a Modine. She would always tell us stories about her husband Wylder and how lucky I was to have married a Modine man.

Alice loved her son Morgan. She had a sparkle in her eye when telling the story about how she bonded with him as a little boy. Morgan was her baby, as she would always say. Growing up, Morgan had fun with Alice, and she loved him as her own.

I loved Alice and miss her every day. I respect Gods wish to call her back at his side. I hope that she knows that she meant so much for me and that I will carry on.

Getting ready for Modine dinner

Rhea Modine

January 19, 2020

New years fun

Rhea Modine

January 19, 2020

Alice with grandchildren, juliana and austin

Rhea Modine

January 19, 2020

Barbeque at son, Morgan's house

Rhea Modine

January 19, 2020

Modines having silly fun

Rhea Modine

January 19, 2020

Alice and her best friend, Juliana

Rhea Modine

January 19, 2020

Modines having fun

Rhea Modine

January 19, 2020

Modine family

Rhea Modine

January 19, 2020

Lady Carla (Cassata) Davis

January 11, 2020

January 10, 2020, Queensland, Australia

A TRIBUTE TO MY DEAR FRIEND, THE AMAZING ALICE MODINE!

It was with deep sadness that I learned, just yesterday (January 9th), from our mutual friend, Bruno Rauch, of the passing of one of my dearest friends of over 32 years: Alice Modine, in Boca Raton, FL.

There is so much more to the fascinating life of Alice Modine than what was relayed in her brief obituary. Perhaps, because she outlived most of her friends, there are few if any left to tell her story, in honor of this amazing woman.

I first met Alice in 1988, after a move from Maui, Hawaii, with my 10 year old daughter, Monique. I bought into Estada, where we lived for 10 years.

At that time, Alice's husband had recently passed away. So, in her effort to adapt to her new life, she decided to refresh her home and environment, clear the clutter, renovate, and make changes, which I assisted her in doing. Of the items she kept, everything had a fascinating story behind it.

Alice and I had a special bond right from the start. We both had European upbringings, were international travelers, and had worked in the airline industry, back in the days when airline travel was a much higher standard. She told me many intriguing stories about her life.

During her working career, Alice was the Public Relations Director for Lufthansa Airlines. At that time, she and her husband Wilder Modine, were living in Beverly Hills, CA, where Wylder was, I believe, Superintendent of the school district.

Alice was well educated, intelligent, worldly, always positive and spunky, and very independent. In addition, she was not only naturally beautiful, she was young at heart, and also kept herself fit.

Alice's PR position meant that she connected with every VIP person who traveled on or did business with Lufthansa, which was and still is one of the world's best airlines. From the many stories she told me and the countless photographs on her office walls, her life was full of excitement, very productive, and most interesting. She was also a VIP!

In fact, going into Alice's office was like a stepping back in time, to the days when life in Hollywood was glamorous. Among her many photos and treasures, was a love letter from Cary Grant, photos of her with many of the stars and famous people of that time, and a large photo of the Earth from space, signed by astronaut Edgar Mitchell.

I shared my knowledge with Alice, having had previous property managerial experience; having a professional health practice (Nutrition Consultant/Educator); and being a Contributing Editor for the country's top heath magazine. In turn, she became a mentor who taught me how to improve my writing skills. We both also loved ballet and the arts.

Concurrently, Alice and I, along with other homeowners, had a strong desire to improve our HOA. So we connected and embarked on our mission. In an effort to beautify Estada from its original drab, old look, I set up small business on the weekends, designing and planting small tropical gardens. Alice wasted no time and had me design and redo her garden. This encouraged others to also beautify their gardens. Plus, we recruited support from Bruno, with his many skills, and a few others.

Eventually, Alice, Bruno and I served on the HOA committee together. With the support of others, we made much progress and vast improvements to beautify Estada. Serving on a HOA is never an easy task because it is full of political strife. None the less, with Bruno's leadership and good taste as Chair, Alice's fearless support, and the support of others, Estada is the beautiful place it is today.

During my time there, Alice often had many fun get-togethers. Her visitors were always interesting people. Among Alice's many friends was the late astronaut Edgar Mitchell.

Alice often talked about how proud she was of her movie star nephew, Mathew Modine, who also visited her with his family, from time to time. She also spoke fondly of her brother. None the less, our circle of friends were like family to each others.

After I moved to Queensland, Australia, where I am now, I kept in touch with Alice and Bruno from time to time. I recall the newspaper article she sent me about: Amazing Alice still doing ballet in her 90s! She was such an inspiration.

In 2017, after an invitation from the Publishers of Masters of Health eMagazine, in So. Florida, I made the long trip back to Florida. Of course, I had to visit my friends in Estada. My friend Bruno invited me to stay at Estada and surprise Alice, which we did. What a heartwarming delight it was to see my dear friends again. It was just like old times... good friendships never change. We had the most wonderful get-togethers, a fabulous dinner at Bruno's, and delightful lunch at Alice's. Most importantly, we had value time together. Amazing Alice looked fabulous as you can see in the attached photos. Same with Bruno.

In May 2018, another friend, Nick, sent me an article about a woman whose car had gone off the road during a storm and plunged into a lake. A man, Fabio, in a passing car saw what had happened and went to rescue her from her sinking car. Nick asked isn't that your friend Alice? Yes... it was! https://www.newsmax.com/thewire/alice-modine-fabio-franca-rescue-sinking-car/2018/05/30/id/863154/

So, I immediately called Alice to see if she was OK. She relayed the whole story and incredible rescue. And in no time, Amazing Alice was back driving and doing the things she loved: ballet and yoga, and being independent at age 95. The Universe obviously wanted Amazing Alice around for a bit longer.

The fond memories of our treasured friendship will always have a special place in my heart.

Dearest Alice, you lived a full, rich, long and interesting life. You enriched the world with your presence and knowledge, and inspired others, including me. You also enjoyed life and never let age deter you. May you equally enjoy the the spirit world, where ever you are. Know that I love you dearly and will miss your presence; but your beautiful spirit will forever live on in my heart.

Alice would have turned 96 on May 7th, 2020.

Lady Carla (Cassata) Davis

Ernie Velez

October 9, 2019

I had the honor and privilege of knowing Alice Modine for 30 years as a most wonderful neighbor and friend! She was a very kind and loving person with a positive attitude and cheerful smile. I admired her zeal for life and her love of the arts and ballet. She treated me and my family to wonderful ballet performances and always took the time to listen to whatever we had to say. Alice was the President and Board member of the Estada HOA for many years and was the person who encouraged me to also serve on the Board to continually improve our community. I thank God for the blessing of knowing Alice as a neighbor and a friend and I pray that He comfort her family members and friends for her loss. She will be missed!

Ernie Velez

October 9, 2019

I am most saddened by the loss of Alice Modine. We had been neighbors for 30 years and she was a wonderful and kind person! She was the first person that I met when I moved into the Estada neighborhood. She was very friendly and full of life! She enjoyed the ballet and the arts and would treat my family as her guests to watch beautiful ballet performances. She also served our community as President and Board member for many years and encouraged me to also serve on our Board and volunteer my time. She always looked for ways to improve our neighborhood. I will miss her friendly smile, her positive attitude and words of encouragement. I pray that God comfort her family and friends for her loss and I am thankful to God that He placed Alice in my life and allowed me to get to know such a wonderful person! She will be missed!

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