Alice Smith Burgess

Alice was born June 20, 1949, in Moscow, Idaho, and grew up in Lewiston, the middle child of Russell and Blanche (Hardy) Smith’s three children. She often said her middle-child status made her a peacemaker, which may explain why she was able to gather such an eclectic group of friends from coast to coast. She made new friends and kept the old and was regularly in touch with classmates from grade school, high school, and college; colleagues from workplaces in Lewiston, Portland, Ore., Seattle, Washington, D.C., and New Orleans; neighbors and gardeners in the Interbay P-Patch; and fellow board members, including GROW Northwest, the Center for Human Services, and Volunteers for Outdoor Washington.

A graduate of Lewiston High School and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Alice began her career as a reporter for the Lewiston Morning Tribune and went on to work in public relations at the Port of Seattle, the Fairfax County (Va.) Community Services Board, Tulane University, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. After starting the Burgess Consortium, she worked as a communication consultant, writer, editor, and writing coach. She was taught courses in business writing and public relations at the University of Washington.

Her skills were as many and as varied as her friends. Alice’s father taught her how to knit and how to change a tire, a skill required before she could get her driver’s license. Her mother taught her to sew and to bake. Gardening was a family value that Alice held dear. She inspired many Seattleites to grow those yellow mystery tomatoes that can't help but flourish.

It was at the Port of Seattle offices that she met Stan, an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. They married in 1979. Alice loved travel and adventure, whether it was across the world to Tibet or Vietnam or across the state to the North Cascades. The ski group Alice started 44 years ago gathered every year in places she had found, including in Norway, in the Methow Valley and, for nearly 20 years, in Colorado. Stan and Alice rafted the Salmon, Snake, Colorado, and Rogue rivers. They hiked with and without llamas. Alice loved animals—llamas on the trail, giraffes in South Africa, dogs and cats in any neighborhood.

Alice supported Planned Parenthood, Washington’s National Park Fund, and other women’s rights, mental health, and environmental organizations. Stan and Alice were regulars at the theater, opera and University of Washington women’s volleyball matches. And Alice knew how to celebrate, from Mardi Gras to Thanksgiving to birthday parties. Who else would have gathered friends from across the country to celebrate her 50th birthday on St. John, Virgin Islands?

Warm, welcoming, and wildly curious about everyone she encountered, Alice was a catalyst for community and swept many into her wide “Friends of Alice” net to join her in adventures, fun, and fellowship. She was a steady presence through good times and bad, meeting life’s disappointments with her enviable mix of practicality and cheer.

Alice was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Elizabeth (Smith) Magoon, and her stepson James Hamilton. She is survived by her husband, her brother David Smith, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A celebration of Alice’s life will be held in May at a time and place to be determined. Memorial gifts are welcome to Washington’s National Parks Fund, Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest, GROW Northwest or the appropriate charity of your choice.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared below for the Burgess family.