Obituary of Alice Calder Miles

Alice Calder Miles August 9, 1920- October 8, 2010 Alice Calder Miles was born August 9, 1920 in Wilmington, North Carolina. She was the second of three children born to Robert Edward and Sue Brent (Prince) Calder. Between older sister Sue Brent and younger brother Robert Edward, Alice grew up in Wilmington in a loving and active family. Always an excellent student, after high school graduation Alice left Wilmington in 1937 to enroll at the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, now called University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She loved college and was active in many groups. She graduated in 1941 with a degree in Psychology and as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. After graduation her desire to get some real work experience first led her to St. Martha’s House, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here Alice was introduced to the American Friends Service Committee. This connection was to have a profound effect on her life and future choices. In 1943 Alice took a job as a ward attendant in the Philadelphia State Mental Hospital, where she met Ward Miles, a young Quaker from Salem, Oregon, who was serving his alternative service at Byberry. Alice and Ward were married on June 15, 1946 in Philadelphia. Alice’s religious convictions stayed strong as she joined her new husband in membership in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). They continued to live in Philadelphia while Ward earned his medical degree. Alice enrolled in Bryn Mawr College, where she earned her Master’s degree in Social Work in 1949. When Ward finished medical school, he accepted a position with Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound in Seattle. Alice immersed herself into life in Seattle and raising her children. Big changes came again for Alice and the family in 1968 when Ward accepted a position with the Peace Corps in Micronesia. They spent two very interesting and productive years on the island of Saipan. In 1972, Alice and Ward moved to Olympia, Washington. Olympia had no Friends Meeting when Ward and Alice moved there, so they began holding worship in their living room and invited others to join. Alice’s strong religious beliefs helped bring another generation to Friends and the little meeting was soon thriving. Alice served in leadership for the Olympia Friends meeting and served as Clerk of the North Pacific Yearly Meeting. As she aged, she began to show the effects of dementia, and as Ward’s Parkinson’s restricted his mobility and ability to care for a large home and acreage, the decision was made to move to Panorama City in 2001. Alice’s strong religious faith and her belief in the essential goodness of all people gave her the courage to take on challenges throughout her life. She will always be remembered for her bright eyes and warm smile, and for her love of words and language. She had a wonderful sense of humor and was often amused by her own wit. Family dinners were times of laughter and conversation. Alice is survived by her husband of 64 years, Ward, four children, David, Joel, Prudence, and Stuart, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, and by her brother, Robert Calder. She was preceded in death by her sister, Sue Brent Crown, and by her grandson, Ngelechel Calder Miles. Memorial donations suggested to American Friends Service Committee.