MANCHESTER, Conn., and FORT FAIRFIELD – Alice Eloise Jones McCrea, 87, formerly of East Hartford, Conn., passed away April 13, 2012, in Hartford, Conn., after a lengthy period of failing health. Alice was born May 15, 1924, in Houlton, daughter of the late Leland B. Jones and Vena Smith Jones.
She was the wife of Harold McCrea of Fort Fairfield. She attended elementary and high school in her hometown. She graduated as a registered nurse from Madigan Memorial Hospital, Houlton, in 1945. She married her high school sweetheart Harold, Oct. 27, 1945, at Chanute Air Force Base, Champaign, Ill. She worked as a registered nurse in Champaign, Ill.; Sebring, Fla.; and Fort Fairfield. She and Harold lived in East Hartford, Conn., for 34 years. She retired from Riverside Health Care Center, East Hartford, Conn., after 25 years of service. She was a member of First Congregational Church, East Hartford, Conn., and served on the Board of Deaconesses for many years. She was also a member of the White Church Guild, Business and Professional Women’s Club, and the Board of Missions.
Alice is survived by her children, David and his companion, Fran Gustin, of Fort Fairfield, Scott and his wife, Chris, of Andover, Conn., Jill McCrea Coltrane and her husband, David, of Leyte, Philippines, and Joseph and his wife, Kathy, of East Hartford, Conn. She will also be dearly missed by her grandchildren, Jayne-Marie, Betty, Meaghan, Dawn, Stephanie, Mike, Callie, David and Jim; her 13 great-grandchildren; sisters, Nancy Gaunce of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., and Martha Mahoney of Caribou; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband of 65 years, Harold; her sisters, Alvaretta Gillis and Priscilla Merritt; and a granddaughter, Heather Ruel.
Friends and family are invited to gather for calling hours 5-8 p.m. Monday, April 16, at Newkirk & Whitney Funeral Home, 318 Burnside Ave., East Hartford, Conn., where funeral services will begin 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 17, with her celebration of life service 11 a.m. Tuesday at First Congregational Church, Main Street, East Hartford, Conn. Burial to be immediately afterward in the family plot at Silver Lane Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the American Diabetes Association, 30 Industrial Road, Middletown, CT 06457 or American Heart Association, 5 Brookside Drive, P.O. Box 5022, Wallingford, CT 06492. To leave an online condolence, please visit
www.newkirkandwhitney.com.