Lifelong resident; winner of Apple Fest Apple Pie contest
Published September 19, 2019
NORTH READING — Alice M. (Tarbox) Nickerson, 91, of North Reading, died Friday, September 13, 2019 at Hathorne Hill Genesis Healthcare in Danvers.
Born on September 11, 1928, she was the daughter of the late Theodore and Laura (Hamilton) Tarbox. Alice was a “true townie” and a lifelong resident of North Reading. She attended the L.D. Batchelder School and was a graduate of Reading High School, Class of 1946.
Alice worked as a switchboard operator for New England Telephone and Transitron in Wakefield, and worked in sales for the Abbott Shoe Company in North Reading for over 30 years. Alice was one of North Reading’s first telephone operators in the Conron house when telephones came into town. Her family’s phone number was 7.
Alice always put others before herself; she was very giving and expected nothing in return. She loved her family; all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren had a unique and special bond with her. Alice was a person of strong conviction and instilled a positive work ethic in her children and grandchildren, teaching them to be kind and compassionate.
She was an avid sports fan, her favorite players being Y.A. Tittle and Ted Williams. The Bruins in the 1960s to 1980s were also among her favorites. Alice was very active in North Reading sports. She was the Past President of the North Reading Little League in the ‘60s. She loved attending her children’s and grandchildren’s events in sports, dance and cheering. She loved traveling to Europe to watch her grandsons play hockey.
She loved to bake, especially apple pies. She won the North Reading Apple Festival Apple Pie Contest two years in a row. She enjoyed knitting, making mittens and hats for the kids, and Christmas stockings for new family members.
Family members include her loving son, Paul Jones and his wife Joanne of New York; her daughter, Leslie Ann (Jones) Rogers and her husband Carl of North Reading; brothers, Harold V. (Joe) Tarbox of Maryland, the late Theodore Tarbox Jr. and Robert W. Tarbox; six grandchildren, Kurt and Eric Jones, Jenelle (Jones) Braga, Meaghan (Rogers) Misuraca, F. Carl Rogers III, and Kristen (Rogers) Legro; nine great-grandchildren, Nathaniel, Norah and Riley Jones, Preston and Kailey Braga, Gabriella, Gavin and Grayson Misuraca, and Colin Legro.
Her funeral will be held on Thursday, September 19 at 11 a.m. at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. Visitation was held on Wednesday, September 18.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in her memory to the MSPCA, 400 Broadway, Methuen, MA 01844. The family would like to thank Care Dimensions and Hathorne Hill for their wonderful care. www.croswellfuneralhome.com.
