Obituary of Alice Vail
It is with broken hearts we announce the passing of our mom, Alice Neita Vail on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at the Sussex Health Centre, Sussex, NB. Born on February 20, 1937, in Joliffs Brook, NB, she was the daughter of the late Ralph and LaDora (Lester) Price.
Mom will be missed by all of us, in our own way… she was strict and short on patience… we don’t know why, as there were only 11 of us! LOL She was a very hard worker, and over the years, she planted trees, raked blueberries, did janitorial work, and was a self-taught seamstress who sewed clothes for some ladies in our community while raising us.
Mom enjoyed a simple life of shopping trips, eating out – Chinese, Fish & Chips, DQ Burgers, and ice cream, $2 Crossword tickets were her fav. - her computer games, but never went on the computer before 7:00pm! Her love of knitting & crocheting produced many gifts of baby blankets, afghans, socks, and mitts. The Dollarama will miss their most loyal customer! Who could forget the threat of a “Grammie Alice Slap”! or the saving of the tissue paper from EVERY gift she opened!
One of Mom’s best gigs ever was being the chauffeur for Randy Vail and a couple of guys from his band, Steve Lyons and Mike McNamara, with Marion Kellow riding shotgun – “what happened in the van, stayed in the van” – oh the stories and laughs.
When mom was just a youngster, she had a little axe that was hers, and she loved it so much so, one winter day she kissed it – lesson learned, she said – when she pulled the cold metal from her lips, the skin peeled off!
Our mother was the strongest, hard-working, independent woman we knew – she treated us all equally. We were so lucky to have her turn 88 this past February. She had a brief hospital stay and is no longer in pain.
Fly high Mom – Say Hi to the Boys…We love you.
Alice is survived by her children: Betty Lou Smith (Bill) of Belleisle Creek, Bev Desruisseau (Rick) of Belleisle Creek, NB, Lorraine Huggard of Belleisle Creek, NB, Marilyn Hovey (John) of Waterborough, NB, Karen Walsh (Fred Sr.) of Sussex, NB, Kev Vail of Moncton, NB, Kimberly Vail (Shawn McKeown) of Grand Bay, NB, Ricky Vail (Marcia Bunnell) of Apohaqui, NB and Tony Vail of Belleisle Creek, NB; daughter-in-law Kath Med-Vail of Barrie, ON; grandchildren: Shyann (Dave), Matthew (MacKenzie), Melissa (Chris), Craig, Benjamin (Jennifer), Crystal (Kyle), Derick (Christine), Brittney (Josh), Rebecca (Justus), Alex, Freddie (Stephanie), Kayla (Caleb), Marshall (Kyla), Blake (Celeste), Mitchell (Mackenzie), Wyatt V, Zack, Wyatt McK, Bree, Zayne; great grandchildren: Gwenyth (Milo), Gabrielle, Sawyer, Camille, Madison, Lexie, Jordan, Cade, Charlotte, Lillian, Camden, Molly, Colton, Bennett, Leah, Grace, Jacob, Harlee, Aubree, Roy, Desmond, Tenille, Vivian, Lily, Nathan, Blakelyn, Nolan and great-great grandson Kayden. Besides her parents, Alice was also predeceased by the father of her children Laurence Vail, sons: Ronnie and Russell Vail, brothers: Ronald and Clarence “Bub” Price, twin sister Gladys Kennedy, grandson Charles Smith, son-in-law Billy Huggard, and her best friend Liz Murphy.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Sherwood’s Funeral Home and Life Tribute Center (506-839-2156) 18 Scovil Road, Norton, NB. A Celebration of Alice’s life will be held at a later date. Donations in memory of Alice may be made to the Belleisle Creek Hall or the charity of the donor’s choice. Personal condolences to the family and charitable donations may be made through: SherwoodsFuneralHome.com
