It is with great sadness that I write to you that Alice Rouleau passed away on July 10th. Alice was the beloved wife of John Rouleau, our former Head of School, and contributed to our community in many ways over the years. She will be missed by all of us, especially John and their daughter, Becky.
Alice and John moved into Rock Point in 1971, when Becky was just a baby. Alice always had a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye. When people spoke with her, they always had her undivided attention. Alice had a way of curiously inquiring about people’s lives and perspectives, without being judgmental. We walked away feeling heard, encouraged and affirmed
Initially, she worked as a dorm staff and English teacher while John taught music. Pretty quickly they both wore many hats as teachers, nurse, dorm staff. In 1972, they moved out of the dorm into the house on the Rock Point property where they raised their daughter, Becky, and lived for nearly 40 years, until 2011 when John retired from his position as Headmaster. During those years Alice branched out to work at Trinity College and then Middlebury College as a detail oriented and caring registrar.
All the while, Alice and John’s welcoming spirits and abilities to share their plethora of interests and skills engaged students and their families for all these decades at Rock Point School. Alice modeled getting outdoors by walking, cross country skiing and biking on the Point and bike path, as well as birding all over. We saw her out and about daily like clockwork.
In addition to provoking interesting and fun conversations with her depth of knowledge about such topics as literature, art, films, and society, Alice also taught many of us how to sew, cook, and preserve food. Those blackberries! Alice loved to pick them, eat them fresh, make pies with them, and especially make blackberry jelly to eat and share broadly.
We are heading towards the end of July, which means one thing, “It’s Blackberry Jam Season, Buddy!”
For more about Alice, you can read her full obituary here.
Alice was a gift to us all. For those of you who would like to attend, a service of thanksgiving and celebration for Alice will be held at Saint Paul's Cathedral in Burlington, Vermont on Saturday, July 20th at 11 a.m.
C.J. Spirito, Head of School