COOPERSTOWN - Mrs. Alice Louise Loomis, a pioneer in special education in the 1950s and a long-time and well-respected part of the Springbrook community, died late Monday morning, August 15, 2011, at Otsego Manor. She was 96.
Alice was born October 26, 1914, in Eldredsville, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, a daughter of J. Lyman Snyder and Sarah Rachel Molyneux Snyder.
A graduate of Mansfield Normal School in 1936, Mrs. Loomis taught both elementary and high school. Her further education expanded her training in many directions, including special education and guidance counseling. A career teacher of over 40 years, she held several master's degrees and was a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma international honor society.
On June 22, 1940, Alice married Ralph M. Loomis in East Smithfield, Pennsylvania, and they raised their family in Sayre, Pennsylvania. Soon after her husband's death in 1968, she moved to Oneonta, where she was employed by the Upstate Home for Mentally Retarded Children, now known as Springbrook.
Alice worked and lived at this ever-expanding facility for well over 30 years until reaching the age of 90. She served as Assistant Administrator, Teacher and Receptionist. A veritable pillar of the institution, she was loved and respected by many, and it was in her honor that the Alice Loomis Vocational Training Building was named. For her long years of service, she was also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award in Homes and Caring Ministries from the American Baptist Convention.
Mrs. Loomis is survived by one son, Jan Loomis of Clay, Alabama; one daughter, Ginger Swank of Zanesville, Ohio; four grandchildren; and some very close friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of nearly 28 years, Ralph; her eldest son, Dale; her brother, sister and foster brother.
Burial will be private in Tioga Point Cemetery in Athens, Pennsylvania, where she will be laid to rest with her husband and son.
Arrangements are under the guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.
Alice was born October 26, 1914, in Eldredsville, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, a daughter of J. Lyman Snyder and Sarah Rachel Molyneux Snyder.
A graduate of Mansfield Normal School in 1936, Mrs. Loomis taught both elementary and high school. Her further education expanded her training in many directions, including special education and guidance counseling. A career teacher of over 40 years, she held several master's degrees and was a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma international honor society.
On June 22, 1940, Alice married Ralph M. Loomis in East Smithfield, Pennsylvania, and they raised their family in Sayre, Pennsylvania. Soon after her husband's death in 1968, she moved to Oneonta, where she was employed by the Upstate Home for Mentally Retarded Children, now known as Springbrook.
Alice worked and lived at this ever-expanding facility for well over 30 years until reaching the age of 90. She served as Assistant Administrator, Teacher and Receptionist. A veritable pillar of the institution, she was loved and respected by many, and it was in her honor that the Alice Loomis Vocational Training Building was named. For her long years of service, she was also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award in Homes and Caring Ministries from the American Baptist Convention.
Mrs. Loomis is survived by one son, Jan Loomis of Clay, Alabama; one daughter, Ginger Swank of Zanesville, Ohio; four grandchildren; and some very close friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of nearly 28 years, Ralph; her eldest son, Dale; her brother, sister and foster brother.
Burial will be private in Tioga Point Cemetery in Athens, Pennsylvania, where she will be laid to rest with her husband and son.
Arrangements are under the guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.
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