Alice Magnell, 83, passed away on May 7, 2018 after a lengthy battle with COPD. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, cancer survivor, secretary, and business owner. She will be forever remembered by her children, Kjelene Bertrand, Karen Perillat, Charles Magnell (Tracy), Richard Magnell (Rachel), Julie Everett (Dwight), and Nancy Magnell, her nine grandchildren, and her three great grandchildren.
Alice was born on July 3, 1934 in Boston, MA and raised with her brothers, Lester and Burton, in New England (Plymouth Mass, New Hampshire, Rutland, Burlington, and Chatham). Her father, Lester Hodgdon, was a Silver Medal, Purple Heart US Marine who served in World War I and was bestowed the Croix de Guerre by the French government. Her mother, Mable E. Burton Hodgdon, ran was a homemaker and ran a bed and breakfast.
Alice graduated from Burlington High in 1954 and went on to earn her Associates degree from Westbrook Jr. College in Portland Maine. After thirty-two years of marriage her husband writes in a letter, “I have such a wonderful feeling, just looking at you and your inner beauty. The way your expressions show how you feel about your children and your life.
You are a fine and good Christian woman and a guiding light for your children…”. Alice worked as a secretary in Cambridge and later at the University of Vermont for four years. She went on to pursue her dream of working in NYC with three other University gals where she met her husband, Charles Magnell, a building developer and Korean War Navy Veteran.
It was love at first sight. When their “eyes locked, they looked no further”. Two weeks later in 1959, en route to meet her parents in Burlington, they spontaneously stopped in Saratoga Springs and married at the old Presbyterian Church on Broadway.
She knew they shared all her core values and they went on to raise six children, partnering in building and operating two businesses – building homes, banks, motels, etc. in Saratoga, Schuylerville, and Greenwich and later an antique business on Broadway until Charles passed away in 1996. Alice enjoyed owning and operating both businesses with her husband.
She loved art and antiques, treasure hunting, learning and sharing stories, and negotiating the deal. She loved swimming and flying, playing bridge with the gals, playing basketball with the family, and spending weekends in Chatham, when she wasn’t raising six children. Alice is also survived by her brother Les Hodgdon (Sydney) in Maine and her six children.
She is preceded in death by her beloved husband Charles Magnell; father, Lester Hodgdon; her mother, Mabel Burton Hodgdon, and her brother, Burton Hodgdon. Family and friends may call from 6 pm – 8 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2018 at Compassionate Funeral Care, 402 Maple Ave. (Rte 9 and/or Marion Ave.
), Saratoga Springs, NY. A Celebration of Alice’s life will be held at 11 am on Friday, May 11, 2018 at Compassionate Funeral Care, 402 Maple Ave. (Rte 9 and/or Marion Ave.
), Saratoga Springs, NY. Interment will be held at Maplewood Cemetery, Weibel Ave. , Saratoga Springs following the service.
Memorial donations in memory of Alice can be made to the Wesley Foundation, in appreciation for their outstanding compassionate and professional service.
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