On the beautiful island of St. Thomas, U.S.V.I, Alice Ulrica Lytch was born on January 29, 1930 to Jacob and Maria Matthias. Alice grew up on the island of St. John and is the eldest of four siblings: Gustave, Lincoln, Clarissa and Zenobia, and the half sister to Carl, Golda and Amy. Some of her fondest memories as a child was boating with her brother Linky who taught her how to swim, and catching fish with her father and brothers in the early morning. Being the oldest came with its challenges, as she often had to take care of her younger siblings and the household when her mom had to work in St Thomas This instilled a great work ethic in Alice that would last her lifetime.
After attending the Horace Mann School, she was the only one in her class that was able to continue on to 7th grade as the other children had to stop in order to work to help their family. Her father made sure she would get an education and although she had to walk for miles through mostly rugged terrain and hills, she knew the importance of how receiving an education would greatly benefit her family. Alice wanted to be a teacher, and after graduating high school in St. Thomas she took courses that allowed her to teach. She taught at the Horace Mann School which was the same school she went to as a child and taught Sunday School at the Emmaus Moravian church.
Always putting God first and a natural giver at heart, Alice would buy food and whatever the family needed when she got paid. She promised her father that she would always help the family and even saved up enough money to buy a horse which she affectionately named Mae West.
In 1953 she migrated to Harlem, New York where she stayed with her brother Carl who introduced her to the love of her life. Alice and Louis Lytch were married in New York, New York in 1956. From this union they had four children Darwin, Flavia (predeceased), Delia and Deanna. After moving to Queens from the Bronx in 1968, Alice pursued a career in special education at P.S. 134 in Hollis, Queens.
Serving the community was her passion as she was not only the President of her Block Association in Cambria
Heights, she was a Civic leader in her community of District 29 as well. Alice loved the Lord and was a faithful member of St David's Episcopal Church for over 30 years where she taught Sunday School and was a Girl Scout Leader for many young girls in South East Queens. Known as the hat lady, Alice was also crafty and a great baker. She made her infamous pound cake and home made bread throughout the years for family and friends which was a hit especially around the holidays. Fried fish was her favorite food and she would say that she could eat it every single day.
==
Alice and Louis moved to Palm Coast, Florida in 2000 where she continued to serve her community. She became a member of the African American Cultural Society and a member of St. Thomas Episcopal church where she became a Daughter of the King.
Kind hearted, giving and a straight shooter, Alice Ulrica leaves behind a legacy of love and strength. She is survived by her son Darwin Lytch, daughters Delia Radcliffe (Seaford), Deanna Salomon (Yves) son in law John Threatt; Sisters Clarissa Frett, Zenobia Lomax; Sister In-Law Mariel Matthias; grandchildren Alicia Desai(Ashish), Krystal Alston(Kevin), Jocelyn Threatt, Darwin Brabham (Shawanda); great grandchildren Sonali Desai, Xavier Desai, Dahlia Desai, Julian Moore, Kevin Alston Jr, Cameron Lytch, Anila Brabham, Bella Brabham, Ariana Brabham, Aaliyah Brabham; step grandchildren Joy Brabham, Joshua Brabham; her special niece Laurel Neita; special nephew and Godson Darrell Hodge and a host of nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.