Alice Springston Was Truly One Of A Kind

photo by George Lilly

For many years, more than I can remember, Alice Springston regularly hosted a twice-monthly breakfast for members of the local chapter of the Fellowship of Reconciliation at her home on Summit Avenue. A memorial service for this remarkable woman was held for her at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg Saturday afternoon.

Here are reflections shared by her son George Lilly at the service in her memory yesterday:

Thank you for joining us this afternoon, to celebrate the life of a truly remarkable woman, my dear mother Alice Springston. 

It’s been a difficult week for us. A week that was filled with tears, loss and heartache. It’s hard to say goodbye to someone that made such an indelible and unforgettable impression on our lives, to say goodbye to a person that shaped and sculpted who my brother and I were to become. It was so hard to say goodbye to a person that provided us with the greatest most beautiful love that a mother could ever provide to her children. It was a difficult week indeed.

But through the long dark shadows that filled our hallways and the empty fog that lingered over us in the hours and days after my mother’s passing, and through our overwhelming sadness, the bright beautiful light that shone from my mother I discovered was still there brighter than ever. It was all around us, enveloping us warmly in all that we are, in all that we will be. 

And we should all rejoice in the fact that her beautiful spirit and vibrant energy is now free to nourish and comfort the world around us. My mother was a homemaker, a teacher, an activist, a business owner, a philanthropist, a poet, and an actress. Through it all, she maintained a child-like wonder on each day’s new adventure. She listened to and observed with gleeful excitement the myriad of birds that flew around her yard. She marveled at the various species of insects that would traverse her path. She was a staunch defender of all creatures great and small. 

I remember pleading with my mother on numerous occasions the importance of ridding the house of a family of mice that had made themselves a home in our kitchen floorboards, yet she insisted on humanely trapping them live, loading them up in her Toyota Camry, driving them to Purcell Park where she would mercifully set them on their way. It was this child like exuberance that made her such a joy to be around all these glorious years. 

But above all, let it be known that she was an inspiration. She inspired my brother Randy and I to never stop reaching for our dreams, to never underestimate the power of our imagination and creativity, to never let the obstacles and challenges we face in our lives get the best of us, no matter how insurmountable they may be. She inspired within us an inner strength that guides us day in and day out. 

And finally, as we sit here together today with our long faces and tear stained eyes, let us remember that sadness and melancholy were never part of her vocabulary. She operated in a world of joyful delight, with a steadfast determination to make everyday the best it could be, with a song in her heart, and a kick in her step. 

So let this day not be one of sad remembrances, but instead let it be  a celebration, a joyful celebration of her life, her legacy and the precious gifts we received from this special person. 

Because the greatest adventure is what lies ahead.