Surrounded by her family, Janice Spindler MacMahon Aldrich died peacefully on Monday morning, November 28, 2016. She was 87 years old.

Jan, as she was known to her friends, was born on October 3, 1929, in Chicago, Illinois, to Janice Kiesling MacMahon and Andrew Merritt MacMahon. Jan's father was a physicist, having earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. He was curator of physics at the Museum of Science and Industry, supervising the design and installation of the physics exhibits, when Jan was born.

When she was five, Jan and her family relocated to the ancestral home base of Houston, Texas, where Jan passed the majority of her childhood with her sister, Ruth Shipley MacMahon Teleki and her brother, Andrew Ernest MacMahon. Jan graduated from San Jacinto High School in 1947, sharing the honor of class valedictorian with two other students.

Jan then went north to Wellesley College, where she double majored in zoology and chemistry, receiving her B.A. in 1951. During her time at Wellesley, Jan met and fell in love with her future husband, Fred Waldo Aldrich, Jr. (who predeceased her in 2014), whom she married in Houston in June 1952. They met on a snowy night, on a double blind date, attending a movie that each had seen before. It was love at first sight.

Jan's marriage lasted 21 years, during which time she bore three children, Brian, Claire and Eric. Jan was very active in her community of Lexington, where she served on school committees and was an active member of her beloved First Parish Church. When her children were older, she worked at Arthur D. Little to remain close to her scientific interests and to put her children through college. Jan also tutored in the Lexington public school system, and was sought after regularly for her services, tutoring students until she was well past 70. She gave generously to many charities and was a devoted friend, an inspiration to many, and loved by all who knew her. An empathetic soul whose generosity knew no bounds, she held the needs and cares of everyone she knew as close to her heart as if they were her own.

Jan is survived by her three children, Brian Stewart Aldrich and wife Merita Ann Mullen, Claire Elizabeth Aldrich and husband Montieth Martin Illingworth, and Eric Matthew Aldrich and wife Stacey Handley Aldrich, as well as seven grandchildren: Grace Illingworth, Isaiah (Bucky) Illingworth, Genevieve Illingworth, Zoe Aldrich, Zachary Aldrich, Ryan Handley and Liam Aldrich. In addition, she is survived by her sister and brother, Ruth Shipley MacMahon Teleki and Andrew Ernest MacMahon, and their families, as well as her niece, Marcia Judge Cameron and her family.

A memorial service will be held April 1, 2017, 11:30 am at the First Parish Church, 7 Harrington Rd., Lexington, Mass. Reception to follow at the church immediately after the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to the Janice and Andrew MacMahon Memorial Scholarship Fund (Office for Resources, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Room 268, Wellesley, MA 02481) or the Southern Poverty Law Center (400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama, 36104), in memory of Janice M. Aldrich. (Jan established the scholarship fund in memory of her parents.)