Alice Hammond Soininen of Sutton VT and Mystic CT died on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 at the Avalon Health Center in Mystic after a heroic, five-year battle with kidney cancer.
The daughter of William Wadsworth Hammond and Adelaide (Bragaw) Markham, Alice was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky where her father was stationed during WWII.
Raised in Hebron, CT, Alice attended Bard College and graduated from Skidmore College in 1964. Alice also earned Masters Degrees from Eastern CT University and the R.P.I Graduate Center in, respectively, teaching the gifted and business administration.
She is survived by Tom Soininen, her husband of 53 years, and their three children and their spouses: Julie and Bob Elkins of Annandale, VA, Anne and Kevin Jacobsen of Los Angeles, CA and John and Lisa Soininen of Ipswich, MA. The loves of her life were her seven grandchildren: Finley and Jett Jacobsen, Luke and Jane Elkins and Ellie, Brooke, and Reed Soininen.
Alice is also survived by an extended family and dear friends throughout the country. Like her mother, Alice was the facilitator of numerous celebrations over the decades, strengthening and enriching the lives of all.
After 16 years of teaching various subjects and grades in Hebron, Colchester and Marlborough, CT, Alice left teaching in 1980 and began working at The Hartford Insurance Company starting as a computer programmer and rising to the position of Assistant Director before retiring after 23 successful years in various departments including APLUS Financial Services, Process Improvement and Personal Lines as she worked in Product Development, Process Improvement as well as other critical projects for The Hartford.
Upon retirement she joined Tom in the home she designed in 2000 in her beloved Sutton, VT where she had enjoyed her parents’ vacation home in the northeast Kingdom since 1957.
A highly motivated and intelligent woman, Alice always succeeded in all that she attempted. Among her many pleasures were gardening, knitting, reading and travel, the highlight of which was the 6,000 mile journey across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railroad upon Tom and Alice’s joint retirement from The King George School in Sutton, VT in 2007.
A celebration of her life will take place at water's edge at Latimer Point, Stonington, CT on Saturday, September 2 at 5:00pm. (rain date: 9/3/17).
Donations in her memory may be made to the American Cancer Society.
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