Wyncote, PA – Alice Gollnick, 91, passed away on September 12, 2026, at Hillcrest Center after a period of declining health.
She was born on January 8, 1935, in Brooklyn, NY to William Clement and Elizabeth (Robinson) Brooke. The family soon moved to Ridgewood, NJ where Alice grew up.
Upon graduating from high school, she attended Bates College in Maine, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 1956. She moved to Boston, MA where she worked first for Simmons College in the Student Employment Office, then later worked for Hilbert College in the Financial Aid Office.
It was during this period that she met Albert Frank Gollnick, Jr., bonding over their mutual love of hiking and camping. Together they climbed mountains all over New England and the Adirondacks.
They married in 1970 at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Norwich, VT, near Thetford Center where her parents had retired some years earlier. They first lived in East Aurora, NY before settling in Union Springs, NY, where they would spend the next 27 years raising their two sons, Stephen and Peter.
Both lifelong Episcopalians, Alice and Al were very active
members of the local United Ministry Church, singing in the choir and taking part in various charitable activities. In addition, Alice volunteered for the Cayuga County Chapter of the American Red Cross, joining the staff full-time in 1992 as Director of Emergency
Services until her retirement in 2000. As part of her duties, she was sent on location to aid in relief efforts after several hurricanes, including Florida after Hurricane Andrew 1992 and the Virgin Islands after Hurricane Marilyn in 1995.
In 2000, Al and Alice retired to Thetford, VT to live in a cozy log cabin they designed and built on land inherited from Alice’s parents.
She remained active at St. Barnabas Church in Norwich and continued to volunteer for the Red Cross at various blood drives, as well as driving for Meals on Wheels. A music lover all her life, Alice played the recorder in various local early and Medieval groups well into her 80s.
After her husband passed away in 2008, Alice remained in the Upper Valley for another 10 years before moving to Pennsylvania to be close to Peter’s family and her beloved grandchildren.
In addition to her sons, she is survived by her sister Carolyn Brooke, daughter-in-law, Katie Gollnick, grandchildren William, Hannah and Emma, and her many friends.
A memorial service will be held at St. Barnabas Church in Norwich, VT on October 17th at 1:00pm with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, Alice asked that donations be made to either St. Barnabas or to the American Red Cross.
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