Alice Johnson

Alice Marie Day was born May 27, 1942 in Springfield, MA to William and Helen Day.

From the beginning, she learned that she loved animals. And when she discovered horses….they became a lifelong passion. Morgan Horses were her focus and she ultimately participated in many riding competitions….winning a series of awards.

Alice also learned that she was a caregiver…..which led her into her career as a Registered Nurse. Initially, Alice gained a Licensed Professional Nurse (LPN) degree while working at Greenfield Community Hospital in Massachusetts. Then, after obtaining a Registered Nursing (RN) degree, an internal wanderlust urged her to leave New England for California. She joined other Massachusetts Nursing friends in Los Angeles—Carol Stein, Susie Evans, and Marilyn Smalarz-- in 1973 where she found a new life, new friends, and a new nursing career…..primarily at UCLA as a private duty nurse. By all accounts, she was an excellent nurse who had several celebrity patients including John Wayne, Norton Simon, and one of the Gettys. She retired from nursing in Oct 1993.

When Alice moved to Los Angeles, she brought her beloved Morgan Horse, Polly. Subsequently, she also rode and cared for Polly’s “daughter”, Love, for many years. Even after those horses were gone, Alice enjoyed going to the barn nearly every morning to walk and care for other’s horses who were boarded.

She met her future husband, Roberr “Bob” Johnson, at a horseshow and in August 1984, they were married back in Springfield in front of both East and West Coast friends. Together, they enjoyed competing in horse shows, cooking together, traveling, camping in a pop-up trailer co-owned with Tony and Marylin Smalarz and their family, and ski trips with Joe and Nina Perret who owned a condo in Mammoth. Alice particularly loved her “sweets” after every meal…..especially if it was chocolate. Bob passed away 9 years ago after their 32 year marriage.

Alice passed away on December 19, 2025 at age 83 from complicaations of a stroke suffered in September 2025.