Alice T. Welsh

7/14/1938 - 12/14/2025

Niantic - Alice T. Welsh, age 87, of Niantic, reluctantly left this life in the early hours of Dec. 14, 2025, after bravely enduring three years of declining health. Alice was delivered by her father July 14, 1938, at their Niantic home, the seventh of eleven children born to Kenneth and Alice Thurlow.

Alice graduated from NLHS in 1957. At the age of 21, she married her husband John, and became Mom to his small son, Gregory. She raised him as her own, followed by four more kids.

Alice was honest, hard-working, and down-to-earth. A child of the Depression Era, she was not frivolous or wasteful, able to stretch a dollar quite far. She was loud and fun and boisterous, a class clown and the life of the party, the opposite of her reserved husband John. You knew when she had arrived, because she was the one with the crazy hat, the gaudy necklace, and the loudest laugh. She once had trouble at the Senior Center for laughing too loud during Bingo and other ladies "couldn't concentrate."

Alice devoted her whole life to her family. An incredibly strong woman, she ran a tight ship, up at dawn to make breakfast and lunches for John and five kids before the bus came, then hanging endless loads of laundry on the clothesline before washing her floors on her hands and knees every day, dinner, then everybody to bed, year after year. She kept her bills paid, her house and car clean and her yard raked. Her incredible strength held the family together when the trucking company where John had worked for 22 years suddenly went out of business with five young kids still at home; then again when Gregory was killed in a car wreck at the age of 19.

Alice even worked as a housekeeper for other families, so that her family could have extras. She was in demand and adored by her "Boss Ladies." In summer, She would pick berries at Scott's all morning, then stay all afternoon picking berries for her family. By being thrifty, she was able to surprise John by paying their house off early.

She loved decorating for all holidays, with pumpkins and skeletons, Valentine's hearts, shamrocks in March, and a giant flag for Memorial Day and July 4. She even decorated her mailbox and outdoor deck, but she got the most excited about Christmas. She would light up the whole house. Her tree was up early (sometimes all year). There were outside lights, containers of greens with red bows, even a wreath and red bow on her SUV. There were dancing, singing Santas and reindeer, special tablecloths, placemats and dishtowels, even lights in her bathroom. She especially looked forward to Christmas shopping for her kids and grandkids, always remembering their boy and girlfriends, insisting on presents under every tree.

Not one to sit still, she knitted and crocheted hundreds of sweaters, Afghans, hats and scarfs. All babies were welcomed with a handmade baby blanket. She kept with it until her hands were too arthritic to continue. She enjoyed puzzles and reading, her favorite TV shows, and started each day with Scot Haney on WFSB news. She went to as many yard sales as possible, and she looked forward to her Sunday nights at Mohegan Sun.

She loved people, and after John passed away in 2015, she sought them out at the library, the Senior Center, the grocery store, even buying 25-cent cups of ice water at Starbucks so she could sit and talk to people. She checked the "bargain bin" every day at Stop and Shop and picked up her lottery tickets. A Red Sox fan, she wore her trademark turtlenecks with Red Sox hats and jerseys. Nicknamed "Dill" as a kid, it stuck for life, she jokingly called herself "Mrs. Pickle."

Alice was a good, big-hearted, giving person who was always ready to help. She loved making people happy, and if she found out someone had collected something, she'd scour her house for items to give them for their collection. One time her doctor mentioned that her daughter collected rocks, so Alice spent the whole day searching for a piece of fool's gold she had and took it to her next appointment.

Alice used to love to stack and bring in wood for her woodstove. One year, she could be seen in their steep driveway wearing cutoff shorts and men's work boots, swinging a sledgehammer breaking rocks for a stone wall that spanned the length of her long driveway. Once she started, she kept building walls all over her large yard, always seeking flat rocks.

Even as her health declined, she still started each day with a big smile, despite losing so much. She used a wheelchair and could no longer see to read or do a puzzle or scratch a ticket. Still she soldiered on, bravely undergoing surgery at 86 for a dialysis catheter so she could extend her time here. A stroke made it hard to eat or talk, but She was able, as she always was, to find happiness in small things, eating a DQ dilly bar, sitting on the deck, feeding birds and chipmunks, and watching "Everyone Loves Raymond."

Alice is survived by four children: John and Ken Welsh, Penny Fairbanks and Jennifer McGill: eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and her sisters, Edith and Nancy. Welcoming her to Heaven will be her husband: her son Gregory; her granddaughter Colleen; her parents; and eight of her siblings. Alice will be missed by her special cousin, Anne Thurlow; her friends, Judy Pierce, Julie and Julian Soda; and her grandson Kevin, who always made time to visit.

Thank you to all of the Angels at Bride Brook who made Alice feel loved and who took beautiful care of her these last few months. She loved you all right back. Thanks to the sixth floor staff at Middlesex where Alice spent so much time. Thanks to HHC at home, Rachel, Jen OT, Shelly and John, and Christine. Thanks to Lindsay and staff at CHC, and the army of helpers that made it possible for Alice to stay home. Big thanks to her special dialysis nurse Heather, whose infinite patience and dedication in being there for us, teaching us to do Alice's dialysis at home, transforming her life so she could live with her family for as long as possible. "We love you, Heather."

Alice will be laid to rest next to John and Gregory in East Lyme Cemetery. Services will be private.

"Your hard-working hands can rest now, Mom. We will miss you so much."