Alice L. (Nakashian) Erickson

Alice Lucy (Nakashian) Erickson, age 96, of Needham passed away Thursday, October 14, 2021, at home. She was predeceased by her lifelong dance partner, Harold Everett Erickson.

Alice was born, March 1, 1925, in Newton, MA to Edward S. and Aroussiak (Bogoshian) Nakashian of Wellesley Hills, MA, the fifth of six children. She grew up in Wellesley Hills where she worked at for her father’s rug store, Nakashian Rug in the narrow building between route nine and Washington Street in the Hills Square. She graduated in the class of 1942 from Wellesley Senior High and went on to attend secretarial school. She then went to work as a waitress (which she didn’t like), as a clerk at the Harvard Coop (which she did) and finally the Judge Baker Guidance Center (which she loved).

In 1951 she met Harold Erickson at Sandy Island Camp. As she said, “good dancers like to dance with good dancers” and soon they were spending all their time together. They married October 11, 1952, and settled in Waltham, MA. Where Jean, Robert and Ruth where born. In 1963 they moved back to her family home in Wellesley Hills where Barbara was born.

Alice loved to dance, and she and Harold square danced with the Natick Square Riggers for years. She enjoyed working at for the Town of Wellesley as a clerk and later deputy warden at the election polls in Wellesley. She loved to read book of all kinds, but especially if they had been written by her friends.

Her daughter Jean persuaded her to take college courses in computers and she used that to get a job as the clerk in the Housekeeping Department at Newton-Wellesley Hospital where she worked for over 20 years.

As a lifelong member of the Hills Congregational Church, she sang in the choir, rang hand bells, helped at the rummage sale, was part of the Mother’s Club, baked cookies and coffee cakes for bake sales and made sure her children got there on time.

One of her favorite places on earth is Sandy Island Camp in Lake Winnepesaukee. She started the first year of family camp in 1934 when she was nine and was crowned the reigning queen in 2018 at 94 as the longest camper. She danced at every dance and swam every day. She spent a lot of time on the lodge porch talking with her friends, playing canasta and cribbage with her family or just enjoying the view of the lake.

Most of all, Alice loved people. She made friends everywhere. She had friends from childhood she knew all her life, people she met as neighbors, coworkers or anywhere else became good friends for the rest of her life.

Alice is survived by her four children, Jean (Erickson) and Paul Moroney of La Jolla, CA, Robert and Joy Erickson of Meredith, NH, Ruth (Erickson) Doucette of Reading, MA and Barbara Erickson of Peoria, AZ as well as 7 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Services will be held at the Hills Congregational Church at 207 Washington St, Wellesley Hills, MA on Friday, October 22nd at 10:30am.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to Sandy Island YMCA Family Camp or Good Shepherd Hospice 160 Wells Ave, Newton, MA 02459.

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