AMHERST, Alice Howell Friedman passed away peacefully on January 14, 2014 at the age of 91. Alice’s father was an enlisted man  in the US Army and Alice grew up on military bases in a number of communities—New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and, perhaps most influentially, the Panama  Canal Zone. With the support of her parents she studied and received a nursing diploma at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Alice was very proud to be a MGH graduate. Her movement to Boston engendered a life-long love of Boston and New England.  Following nursing school Alice moved to New York City, another city with which she had a long connection, and received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia Teachers College. She moved back to Boston and became a Visiting Nurse serving low-income areas in the city. At a post-WWII party Alice met a young lawyer who was a recent graduate of Boston University, Harvey Friedman. They were married on the same day the Korean War began. 

Following their marriage Alice worked as a visiting nurse, then taught at Boston College, and eventually returned to school for a Master’s Degree in Public Health at Boston University while Harvey worked as a labor organizer and educator. They raised their three children, Joel, Suzanne and Elizabeth, in Newton.  Alice and Harvey were interested in exploring international relationships and became involved in an organization that brought “movers and shakers” together for cultural exchanges.  The Friedman’s hosted a number of international figures from Kenya, India, England, Australia and other countries—who went on to become prominent, and controversial, figures in their own countries.  Alice was one of the first nurses to advocate for enhancing benefits and working conditions for nurses and testified in support of collective bargaining for nurses.

In 1967 Harvey assumed a position at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the Friedman family relocated. Alice took a position at UMass teaching public health nursing and quickly became known for her vision that nurses should have a liberal arts education in addition to professional training.  Harvey and Alice spent several sabbatical years in England which they thoroughly enjoyed; but they were always happy to return to Amherst and their friendships there.  Following retirement, Alice crafted a second life around a range of activities—the Learning In Retirement Program in Amherst, her interest in nursing history, community activities including the Jewish Community of Amherst and being the proud Grandmother of five grandchildren, Marissa, Jacob, Richo, Abraham, and Caroline. Ten years after Harvey’s death in 1992 Alice moved in to the Applewood Community in South Amherst where she took delight in renewing old friendships and building new ones. At the time of her final fall, she was reading George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda in preparation for a reading group which was scheduled to begin this week.

Donations in memory of Alice can be made to the University of Massachusetts School of Nursing and to the Hospice at Fisher House.  

Funeral services will be 10:00 AM Thursday January 16^th at the Jewish Community of Amherst.  Open house in honor of Alice will be held Thursday afternoon from 3:00 to 5:00 PM at Applewood, Spencer Drive, Amherst. Shiva will be observed Thursday from 7:00 to 9:00 PM; the family will also welcome friends for a combined open house and Shiva on Saturday from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 PM at Applewood. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.