All her life, Alice Harrington has been used to caring for others. She said: "I grew up in a small farming community in South Dakota, where neighbors helped each other. My parents cared for my father's Danish immigrant parents, an elderly aunt and several elderly men on welfare. Our home was open to anyone: relatives needing a place to eat or sleep during bad weather, strangers who were caught in a blizzard. All year long, my grandmother sewed dolls' clothing and quilts to be sent to a children's home at Christmas." A child of such influences, she grew up believing in contributing to the well-being of others.
Alice has lived in Japan for 37 years. She joined the Yokohama International Women's Club in 1971, "wanting to meet other foreign women and to work with charities -- my main interest," she said.
Alice met her husband, Donald, in Nebraska, where she was attending a Danish Lutheran college. Originally she and he came to Japan in 1964, drawn by the Tokyo Olympic Games and opportunities to teach English here. "We came with $60 in our pockets and planned to stay a year," Alice said.