Alice M. Cormier

WAKEFIELD, Mich. - And so it goes:

She was standing on the side of the road.

No walker. No more pain. Finally able to breathe.

Phil pulls up in a cab and says, "Where you headed?"

"I don't know," Alice says, nervously... "and I don't know how to get there."

Phil says "That's OK, hop in. I know the way..."

Rest in peace, Ma. Don't worry; we got it covered down here.

Alice M. Cormier, 86, of Wakefield, died on Aug. 14, 2024, with her sons and daughter close by.

Alice was born to Arthur and Linda Oja on Dec. 1, 1937, in Biwabik, Minnesota. She was raised on the family's small farm in Aurora, Minnesota, often under the loving care of her maternal grandparents, Isaac and Selma, with whom she spoke Finnish.

In 1955, she graduated from Aurora High School and left the farm to become the first in her family to enroll in college. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and in 1959 headed east to Wakefield High School to begin a career teaching English and Art to generations of students.

One cold afternoon during that first Wakefield winter, Alice was walking back to her lodgings in the snow when a local cab driver offered to drive her home. Phil Cormier had wanted to meet the town's lovely new teacher. She and Phil married in 1961, and the following year she left WHS to start a family. They eventually welcomed three sons, a daughter, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Alice served on the WHS Board of Education for many years and returned to teaching in 1980 before retiring in 2000.

She is preceded in death by her grandparents; parents; brother, Gerald; sister-in-law, Margie; niece, Cheryl; daughter-in-law, Eileen; and her beloved husband, Phil.

She is survived by daughter, Alisa (Rich) Roberts; sons, Chris (Marion), David (Joy) and Keith (Dervala). She is also survived by grandchildren, Adam Cormier, Hannah and Sarah Cormier, James, Dylan and Dakota Alexandroni, Caitlyn and Brynna Roberts, and Tara Cormier; great-grandchildren, Rylan, Radyn and Jaxston; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Cremation has taken place. The family will honor her life in a private graveside service at Lakeside Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations in Alice's name to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation at myasthenia.org.

Jerald Rocco, owner and manager of Lakeside Memorial Chapel, Inc. Wakefield, is assisting the family with arrangements. To send online condolences or to share a memory, go to: lakesidememorialchapel.com.