Alice C. (Chefalo) “Babe” Perkins, age 92, a lifelong resident of Winchester, passed away peacefully on August 23, 2021. She was the beloved wife of the late Samuel E. Perkins.
Born and raised in Winchester, she was the daughter of the late Harry E. and Alice (Nelson) Chefalo. Alice attended Winchester public schools and was a graduate of Winchester High School with the class of 1947. She then attended Westbrook Junior College in Portland, ME, where she earned her Associates Degree in 1949.
Alice and her husband Sam raised their family in Winchester. She worked for a time in the Winchester Town Clerk’s Office and then as a bookkeeper, and was always very active in the community. She was a member of the Winton Club, a women’s volunteer organization that exclusively supports Winchester Hospital in service and fundraising activities, since 1965. She participated in many capacities for the club, including as Chairperson of the Gift Shop in the hospital, and at the hospital canteen which later became known as “The Coffee Shop”. She also volunteered her time with the En Ka Society and at the annual En Ka Fair in Winchester. In her spare time, Alice, who was very artistic, could be found painting. She was known to paint murals on bedroom walls, and her children and grandchildren own many of her creations. She also enjoyed knitting.
Friendly and kind, Alice often sat on the benches in Winchester Center to enjoy the scenery and fresh air, and was always cheerfully greeted by many friends who came by.
Alice is lovingly survived by her children: Cindy O’Neil and her late husband Jack of Center Barnstead, NH, Keith Perkins and his wife Roberta “Bo” DiGiovanni-Perkins of Hamilton. She was the devoted grandmother of Sean O’Neil, Taylor Perkins and her husband Ben Bangser, Ali Perkins, McKenzie Perkins and great-grandmother of Cadence O’Neil. She was the dear sister of the late Marilyn Preston and her late husband Dick, and is further survived by her nieces Shelley Johnson and her husband Tom, Lauren Preston and her husband Michael Souza. Walk-through Visiting Hours will be held at the Costello Funeral Home, 177 Washington St., Winchester, on Monday, August 30 from 5-7PM. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Please wear masks, enter through the front door, and practice social-distancing. Burial is private. In lieu of flowers, donations in Alice’s memory may be made to the Winton Club, P.O. Box 714, Winchester, MA 01890 or at www.wintonclub.org.