Alice PLON

Alice P. Pariser , Virginia Beach -- Alice Plon Pariser died Oct. 23, 2005, in Virginia Beach at age 87. She was predeceased by her sister, Sibyl; her brother, Lionel; and her husband, Harry. She is survived by her sister, Eleanor; her brother, Gary; her sons, David and Robert; and her grandchildren, Kenneth, Michael, Marlene, Jana and Andrew. She was a native of Philadelphia, where she was raised and educated. She graduated third in her class at Girls’ High School of Philadelphia in 1936. Financial limitations precluded further academic pursuits, but she trained at the Philadelphia School of Office Training and went to work at the First Federal Savings and Loan in South Philadelphia, where she rose from clerk to head teller. This was followed by a period of employment at the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia. During the war years, after it was determined that she was ineligible for military service, she was able to learn auto repair and worked in this area on the home front. In 1945, she married Harry Pariser M.D., also a Philadelphian, and accompanied him to Norfolk, where he established a dermatology practice. Hers was a familiar face for a generation of patients in this practice, many of whom knew her as a "back office" worker but did not realize she was actually "the boss," quietly managing the practice from the background. The next phase of her life was devoted to raising her two sons, both of whom would ultimately join her husband’s dermatology practice in Norfolk. Her artistic proclivities found outlets in painting and sculpture for which she had particular talent. She enjoyed formal study of the fine arts and participated in courses at Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University. She was especially proud of her rudimentary welding skills acquired at a metal sculpture course. This artistic interest culminated with a long association with the Chrysler Museum of Art. She developed a particular interest in the museum’s glass collection. She found she had talent for teaching and in this capacity served as a museum docent in this area for many years. In her later years, she taught in the Adult Learning Center of Virginia Beach. Toward the very end of her life, she helped tutor workers for whom English was a second language, at the Bay Lake Pines Retirement and Assisted Living facility, where she resided. A graveside ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Forest Lawn Cemetery, 8100 Granby St., Norfolk. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Eastern Virginia Dermatology Foundation, 601 Medical Tower, Norfolk, VA 23507. H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel, is handling arrangements.