Alice M. (Shea) Hanlon

Alice (Shea) Hanlon, 93, originally of Worcester, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on Sept. 1, 2022. For the past 15 years, she was a resident of Cedar Crest in Pompton Plains, New Jersey.

She was predeceased by her husband, Joseph, and a daughter, Kathleen McBain. The youngest child of Theresa and Timothy Shea, Alice was predeceased by her siblings, William (Irene) Shea, Helen (James) Cosgrove, Grace Shea, Ruth Shea, Robert (Margaret) Shea, and Richard (Frances) Shea and is survived by one sister-in-law, Elizabeth (John) Hanlon. Alice leaves five children, Theresa and Greg Von Nessi, Elizabeth and James Brasser, son-in-law William McBain, Mary Ellen and Stephen Krivanek, Joseph and Christine Hanlon, Timothy and Carrie Hanlon, as well as 12 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren.

She will also be missed by the many beloved friends she made while living in the Cedar Crest retirement community.

Alice was a graduate of the Academy of Notre Dame in Tyngsboro and of Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York. She married in 1951 and spent about ten years in Connecticut before settling in Union, New Jersey to raise her family. The quintessential homemaker and mom, Alice embraced her role as a mother, head chef, chauffeur, teacher, psychologist, scout leader, and maker of fun. She loved reading, telling stories, playing cards and other games, singing, and dancing. Her love for her family was boundless, and she attended innumerable plays, school events, recitals, sports competitions, graduations, and church events in support of her children and grandchildren, and in more recent years, great-grandchildren.

Alice never tired of learning and enjoyed traveling to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and London, England when her children lived there. Visiting her children in Texas, Florida, Georgia, and the Thousand Islands was also good fun, but her favorite place in the world, outside her own home, was a family beach house in Rye Beach, New Hampshire. Her sense of fun and love for games (especially Scrabble) were legendary, and she will be remembered with love forever.

To honor Alice’s memory, a memorial service will be arranged in the near future at the Cedar Crest retirement community, which she called home for the last 15 years.

A 10:00 AM funeral Mass, with visitation at the church for one hour preceding (beginning at 9:00 AM), will be held on Saturday, September 10th at Immaculate Conception Parish, 353 Grove Street, Worcester, Massachusetts. Those wishing to accompany the family, immediately following mass, are invited to continue to St. John’s Cemetery on Cambridge Street. No reception will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Alice’s honor may be made to a charity of one’s choice or the Resident Care Fund of Cedar Crest, 1 Cedar Crest Drive, Pompton Plains, New Jersey 07444. This fund is designed to assist residents who outlive their resources and was a cause espoused by Alice, who never wished to be a burden to anyone.