Alice Donahue Sloan

It was a long Irish good-bye. Alice Donahue Sloan (93), formerly of North Providence and Touissett Point, RI, passed away at the Residence at Saint Antoine in North Smithfield on September 14 after a lengthy illness which she battled with a fierce intensity that inspired awe in clinical staff and family members alike.

Mother of 6, Grandmother of 17, and Great-Grandmother of 6 more, she cherished her married name of Mrs. James Miller Sloan III and her role as Matriarch of a sprawling clan whose members called her Mom, Manna, Grandmother, and Grand-mère.

A proud native daughter of Massachusetts, she received a BS from Emmanuel College (1954) but turned down a graduate fellowship in Biology to marry her college sweetheart from the College of the Holy Cross and teach third grade in New York City before returning to the home to raise and manage a large family. The dream of medical study set aside, she nevertheless took up eventual graduate studies at Providence College where she earned a Master’s in Educational Psychology (1977) with a focus on coeducation trends that were then broadening young women’s access to elite educational resources.

A Boston girl, Alice had moved to RI in 1957 “just temporarily” (as she imperiously and repeatedly told her children), yet, as she put down ever deeper roots in The Ocean State, she came to be very much at home, especially when “by the water.” Touissett Point, 19th century cottages in Jamestown that could be rented for a summer adventure, and the Squantum Association held special appeal, and the best New England Winters were broken up by extended stays in Naples, Florida, where Alice loved walking the exquisite long beach.

Infrequently at rest, Alice was a high-intensity aerobic dancer who embraced the social dimension of sports with gusto — playing golf with her husband, tennis with her children, and skiing the Rockies where she was known to stop to savor nature on “Gitalong Trail” while her children lapped her. She also loved speed, preferring to drive sleek fast sports cars after she left the station wagon phase of Mom life. This cool Grandmother drove a cassisrot Porsche or teal Jaguar XJ6 to both Grandchild care duties and to her volunteer work where she “loved up on babies” in Women and Infants Hospital neonatal care units. Her favorite way to be a passenger was to hop in a small airplane with her husband or one of her three sons, all of whom were licensed private pilots.

Alice’s Roman Catholic faith and devotion to Blessed Mother Mary were central to who she was. In St. Augustine’s Parish in Providence where she was a long-time parishioner (1958-2017), Alice found both a spiritual home and a loving, supportive community. In the Spring of 1969 when she had five children enrolled in five of the eight grades at the parish school, local lore holds that the entire school community held vigil during a long obstetric labor and then that whole school community erupted in applause when her sixth child was safely born. “It’s a (Sloan) boy” had been announced over the school’s PA system by one of the brilliant nuns who ministered to whole families as well as individual schoolchildren.

Alice was known for legendary hospitality in which “2 or 11” were always welcome at her table… though her family still does not understand how she pulled off so many New Testament “loaves and fishes”-style miracles. At the city house, the fireplace and candles were always lit, the table laden with china, crystal, and silver upon linen. Alice plied between the kitchen where she produced meals and the living room piano where she relished playing any tune you requested because this daughter of a musician father could also play by ear. (The sound of the kitchen stove timer buzzing and summoning her back inspired and fused with many an unusual musical coda.) At Touissett, there were luscious “Big Blues” muffins and clam chowder indoors while outdoors there were cookouts, fishing off the dock, games of softball and frisbee, beach roaming, and marshmallow toasting underneath a canopy of children’s wedding flags and grandchildren’s individual flags flying brilliantly overhead on a nautical flagpole.

Ever a keen student who vigorously encouraged her children’s academic pursuits, Alice particularly loved the study of Biology although she also excelled at language study. This schoolgirl Latin medalist returned to the study of classical Latin at Harvard Extension School later in life and she refined her knowledge of French at Providence College. In addition to her “Mary mind” though she had capable “Martha hands” that turned out gorgeous, knitted garments worked in intricate patterns.

Alice’s Husband of 63 years, Providence attorney James Miller Sloan III, and their son, James Miller Sloan IV, both predeceased her. She is survived and mourned by her elder sister, Margaret Donahue Hyde (96) of San Jose, CA; 5 married children— Maryalice Sloan-Howitt (Arnold M. Howitt); Cathleen Sloan Hood, MD (D. Tucker Hood II); Kristen Sloan Maccini, Esq (Robert J. Maccini); Peter L. Sloan (Christine A. Sloan, Esq); and Stephan C. Sloan (Lara S. Sloan); 17 Grandchildren; and 6 Great-Grandchildren.

Visitation will be Friday, September 18, from 8:30 – 9:30 am in the Russell J. Boyle and Son Funeral Home, 331 Smith St., Providence. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church, 639 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Providence, at 10:00 am. Burial will follow the mass at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Providence where Alice will be laid to rest alongside her beloved husband, Jay, whom she now joins in eternal life.