Alice grew up in Seattle attending Coleman Elementary, Madrona Elementary, Meany Junior High and Garfield High School. Alice was valedictorian of her graduating class and was named a Top
Ten Scholar. She went on to receive her B.A. at the University of Washington where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was inducted into Phil Beta Kappa for her academic excellence.
Upon graduating, Alice briefly pursued a career teaching history at James Madison Junior High. She left teaching to begin a career in accounting and continued in this capacity until a few months before her death.
Alice was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 39. Because she lived under the shadow of this diagnosis, she accelerated the timeline of her “bucket list”. She traveled extensively throughout her life, entertained continuously, babysat her grandchildren as often as possible, volunteered for everything and read as many books as she could order from the library. She had such a passion for life and learning. It was both inspiring and humbling to be around someone so knowledgeable.
Another favorite thing for Alice to do was combining her love of travel with her love of food. For every trip she organized with friends, she hosted a meal for her fellow travelers based on the cuisine of the countries they had just visited. She loved searching for recipes and coming up with a menu that best reflected the flavor of their travels. Needless to say, these gatherings were well attended, delicious and fun!
A sweet remembrance of Alice revolves around holidays. You name the holiday and Alice had a sweater and appropriate accessories for the occasion. She loved all the holidays but Christmas was a favorite. She made sure her 3 sisters and often nieces, all had Christmas sweaters or two. Christmas was also a time when her sons and their families would gather to celebrate the holidays. Alice, with her generous nature, had a bright kelly green Irish knit sweater for St. Patrick’s Day that she wanted to bestow, upon protest, to her niece Christy. Alice was “Mrs. Holiday” for our family and no one will be able to replace her humorous and whimsical holiday spirit.
We all would be fortunate to have had a sister like Alice. She was smart, funny, compassionate and kind. She related that she hoped she would be remembered most of all for being kind. All those who knew her would attest to the fact that she had indeed achieved that goal. To Alice, helping others was not only the right thing to do but it also brought her a great sense of joy.
Alice acted as the moral conscience of the family, finding a path to avoid cynicism, pessimism and dishonesty. Her main concern has always been for the welfare of others. She cared deeply for family and friends and their well being and happiness were of paramount importance to her. NO was a word she rarely used as she was always willing to be of help for those who needed her.
Grateful is a word that well describes Alice. Despite her early breast cancer diagnosis, she was thankful to have seen her sons graduate from college, get married and most of all, to have been given the time to spend with her 4 granddaughters whom she dearly loved. She truly felt she has lived a wonderfully happy and fulfilled life and was able to share this life with a loving and supportive husband.
Alice was an extraordinary person and was dearly loved. She will be remembered by all who knew her and missed by all who loved her.
Alice was preceded in death by her parents and her older sister May Macnab. She is survived by her husband Shuzo of 51 years, who lovingly cared for her during her illness. Also surviving Alice are her sons, Steven (Donna) and Greg (Ashlee), sisters Helen Saito and Joice Masuda and granddaughters Cassidy, Natalia, Ava and Callie and her nieces and nephews.
There will be a Celebration of Life for Alice on Saturday, August 17, 2019 from 2-5 at the Bellevue Club, 11200 SE 6th St., Bellevue 98004. The burial service will be a private family affair.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Alice’s memory to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance 825 Eastlake Ave. E., Seattle, WA, 98109 and Team Survivor NW 200 NE Pacific St. #101, Seattle 98105.
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