Alyce Mae (Wieselquist) Henningson, 94, formerly of Southborough, passed away early Monday morning, April 20th at the Whitney Place Assisted Living facility in Westborough. She was surrounded by her children, the people she loved most, until the very end of her life.
Born in Providence, RI on January 26, 1932, she was the daughter of Franz R. Wieselquist and Laura (Illingworth) Wieslequist. She was a graduate of North Providence High School and the Rhode Island Hospital School of Nursing.
Alyce found her soulmate John “Jack” Henningson when she was a nurse in training and Jack was a patient recovering from a compound leg fracture he sustained playing football at Brown University. They were married in 1955. Alyce took care of Jack when they first met, they loved and took care of each other for more than forty years, and she took care of Jack before he passed from cancer in 1994.
Alyce stopped working to devote herself to raising her six children but eventually returned to nursing, working at the Braemoor Nursing Home in Marlborough, MA and then Vernon House in Framingham, MA, where she was the Head Administrative Nurse.
Alyce was a devoted loving mother and enjoyed most being with her family, which included six children and their spouses and twelve grandchildren. When her children were growing up, the family spent much of their summers camping in the Canadian Maritimes, and eventually Alyce and Jack bought and refurbished a house in Aspy Bay, Nova Scotia. When she was younger, Alyce enjoyed working in her flower gardens and bird watching around the house. She was a Celtics fan going back to the era of Bill Russell, her favorite player. Alyce was a lover and owner of numerous dogs and cats throughout her life. She loved watching British mystery and detective shows and was an avid reader of mystery novels. She was mindful of the importance of lifestyle and nutrition, and belonged to a gym into her 80’s.
Alyce was incredibly resilient and persevered throughout her life despite the loss of her second child soon after her birth (when Jack was away on active duty in the Navy), the loss of Jack to cancer just as they were getting ready to enjoy their retirement together, a Parkinson’s diagnosis, the loss of her oldest daughter Leslie to cancer, the onset of dementia, and a fall that necessitated a hip replacement and the need to use a wheel chair for the last two and a half years of her life. Alyce kept going through all of it.
Alyce’s children loved her immensely and felt unconditionally loved by her. She was loyal, empathetic and intuitive and had a great sense of humor. Her compassion and kindness continued to shine through to the devoted caregivers who supported her with such love in the last few years of her life.
Alyce is survived by her daughter Jennifer (Jeff) Crisafulli of Natick, sons John (Patty) Henningson of Northborough, Jeff (Janice) Henningson of Northborough, Erik (Nina) Henningson of North Grafton, Ivar Henningson of Marlborough, son-in-law Jim Chapdelaine of Worcester; grandchildren Linnea, Graham, Kelsey, Jack, Suzanne, James, John, Ian, Anders, Isak, Jenson and Georgia. In addition to her parents, Alyce is predeceased by her husband Jack Henningson, her daughter Leslie Chapdelaine, and brother James (Leilani) Wieselquist.
Funeral services will be private. Donations in Alyce’s memory can be made to the American Diabetes Association or the Parkinson’s Foundation
(Photo and Obituary via Morris-Johnston Funeral Home)
