Alice Hankins Schmidt

Alice grew up in Indianapolis. Despite the Depression, she remembers a happy childhood with sledding and bicycling with her brother and their dog, Caesar, playing hopscotch, paper dolls, and mumbly peg (with an ice pick!), and working on Girl Scout projects. In the evening, neighborhood children would pay "Tappy on the ice box," a form of hide and seek.

At De Pauw University she was capped for Mortar Board Honorary and Phi Beta Kappa and received her A.B. degree. Having always wanted to be a teacher, Alice enjoyed her career as an English teacher -- and her summers at the University of Wisconsin where she received her M.A. and met Smitty (Bob). Their first two years of marriage took them to beautiful Minnesota where they enjoyed cross-country skiing and walking through the woods. Later, with two very young children, David and Leonard, they had an interesting life in the then pleasant small city of Quetta, Pakistan, where Bob, with Pakistani geologists worked in several more remote areas. Making friends with Pakistani women, Alice was invited to become a member of the Purdah Club, although all the women and she did not wear a burqa! She had a Sunday School class as well as an art class for Pakistani children. An unforgettable trip by auto took the whole family through South Waziristan to Peshawar and the Kyber Pass, then through the mountainous areas and beautiful valleys to Kashmir.

Back in the U.S.A. the Schmidts enjoyed their life in Arlington where Alice taught English as a Second Language to adult students, leading to several trips for them to Japan, traveling on their own and sometimes staying in the homes of former students who remained friends throughout her life. Bob's work took them to Spain many times with later reunions. The entire family also enjoyed camping throughout the United States and Europe. Alice and Smitty were blessed with three grandchildren, Alexa, David and Alan, and one great grandson, Evan, and a great granddaughter, Emma. Family members were the real focus of her life, and time with them was cherished beyond all else.

Alice was an active member of Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ and felt blessed by its spiritual ministry, outreach, and emphasis on social justice. She helped start Headstart in Arlington. Serving on the board of A.A.U.W., Alice was especially active in its International Hospitality program and included friends from other countries in their holiday parties. Her special interest in Indonesia resulted in an invitation to become the only American member of Dharma Wanita, the Indonesian women's organization. She became an avid player in the Indonesian Embassy's gamelan for twenty years. This traditional percussive instrumental group played for receptions, shadow plays, the Cherry Blossom Parade, and other cultural events. At almost seventy years of age, Alice spent a month traveling alone in Indonesia. Later, she and Smitty served as volunteer teachers in a small Javanese village with more travelling in Java, Sumatra, Bali, where they stayed in an ashram led by a Balinese friend, and the more remote island of Sumbra.

Bob and Alice moved to Goodwin House in 1998. In her early years there she could often be seen with her water colors and stool painting in the woods, by the garden boxes or next to flower arrangements in the halls inside. Later on, she spent her time in the Fitness Center, on the upper woodsy trail, or in the Courtyard observing the birds, squirrels, and the little brown bunny. She really enjoyed and appreciated her happy life at Goodwin House, her warm friendships there with residents and wonderful caring staff members too. her life was blessed with people, places, participation, and positive Christian faith.

A Celebration of Life for Alice will be held on Saturday, September 21 at 11:00 AM at Goodwin House Alexandria, with reception to follow. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Addison County Home Health and Hospice or Rock Spring Church (linked below).