Alice Christian, formerly of Ash Grove, Ramsey, has died in Yorkshire aged 85.
The widow of advocate, hotelier, newspaper proprietor and Ramsey MHK J.J. Christian, Alice was well-known for her tireless charity work on behalf of Ramsey Cottage Hospital League of Friends and other causes.
She moved away in 1991 to live near her daughter Gill, but kept in touch with her closest friends Jean Howarth and Janet Grange who kept her up to date with island news.
Born in Scotland, the youngest of five siblings, she was good at sport and played netball for Scotland and went on to train as a sports and gymnastics teacher.
While on holiday in the island in 1955 she met local advocate John James Christian and after a whirlwind romance they were married in the November of that year!
A strong character and hard worker, she helped her husband run the Beach Hotel, which was one of Ramsey’s busiest hotels, boasting its own swimming pool, tennis courts, solarium and glass-floored ballroom. In between times she raised three children – two sons and a daughter.
When J.J. acquired the Ramsey Courier in 1970, she worked in the Courier shop and office in Parliament Street.
She was involved in many charities and served on many committees, including the Scouts and the British Heart Foundation. She was always meticulous about her appearance, and one of her other interests was flower arranging.
When she left the island, she continued her charity work at her new home where she was a volunteer at Selby and District Hospital and a member of the St John Ambulance fundraising committee.
In later years, she would recall the VIPs, including royalty, she had met and the glittering social events she had attended in her earlier life.
Her children and their partners live in various parts of England – Ian in Chesterfield, Gill in Selby and Alan in Stoke-on-Trent. There are five grandchildren.
Gill said: ‘She loved living in the Isle of Man and considered herself more Manx than Scottish at times.
‘It was hard for her to leave, but as we three children weren’t there anymore she felt it was worth it to be nearer us and her grandchildren’.