Alice Lewis Sessions

Alice June Sessions (nee Lewis), a lively fixture in Washington’s cultural life and a passionate supporter of theatre arts and the ballet, as well as education for troubled youths, passed away peacefully in her Washington DC home on December 21, 2019, at the age of 88. The cause of death was lymphoma. In her last days, she was surrounded by her daughter and loving friends. Alice is survived by her husband, former FBI Director William S. Sessions; sons, William L. Sessions, former Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX.), Mark Sessions, and daughter Sara Sessions Naughton; siblings, George Lewis and Judith Lewis Patton; 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. Alice was born on June 18, 1931, in Independence, MO, to George G. Lewis and Edith Woods Lewis. The family relocated to New South Wales, Australia, the following year when her father became an Apostle of the Jesus Christ Church of RLDS. They returned to Independence in 1938. She graduated from Northeast High School, Kansas City, in 1948, giving the class valedictorian speech at the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium. After declining a scholarship to London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, her attendance at Graceland College was interrupted by a car accident that injured the entire family, her father fatally. She later spent a few semesters at the University of Iowa, where she also joined the Tri Delta sorority. Alice was always gallant in her support of controversial causes. Early on she appeared at the Kansas City Resident Theater as Petra in Ibsen’s “Enemy of the People” starring Morris Karnovsky, a founding member of the Group Theater who had been blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1952 she married friend and N.E. High classmate, Bill Sessions. The couple settled in Waco, TX, where Bill, who was stationed at James Connelly AFB, earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Baylor. During the next six years, the couple welcomed three sons, while Alice substitute taught in the Waco schools and became active in the community. Over the next decade, she dedicated her energies to the welfare and education of youth in McClennan County, TX, serving on an advisory committee to the county juvenile judge, and as a member of the Texas Congress of Parents and Teachers. Following the infant death of son Jonathan in 1962, she became an advocate for the Children’s Heart Foundation Texas Chapter and Planned Parenthood. She was later involved with the American Institute of Character Education, placing curriculum in the San Antonio schools. From 1969-71, the family lived in Washington DC where Bill spent two years at the Justice Department and daughter, Sara, was born. The family returned to Texas in 1975 when Bill was named to the Federal bench in El Paso. Alice enrolled in UT El Paso, completing her undergraduate studies and earning a master’s degree in theater history, design, and costuming. Her education complemented her lifelong skill as a seamstress, as well as her passion for textiles, and expertise in theater arts. Her efforts were much sought after and greatly prized. She trained herself in the art of making English-style ballet tutus, a process she equated to “wrestling a porcupine.” She donated that talent to regional ballet companies and schools in El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Amarillo, Wichita Falls, Topeka, New Jersey, Virginia, and Massachusetts, building tutus for corps de ballet and principle dancers with equal pride in each costume and dancer. She was also known for sewing most of her own clothes, creating exquisitely tailored outfits using fabrics, buttons, and trim she sourced from throughout the world. She shared her talents with clients, family and friends, crafting one-of-a-kind pieces that included customized wedding dresses. She also had an eye for color, able to find perfect matches without comparing the two side-by-side. In 1987, Bill was appointed Director of the F.B.I. and the couple returned to Washington DC where Alice was extremely active in its cultural and educational life, serving on the International Woman’s Committee, the Blair House Foundation, and the Smithsonian Women’s Committee, among others. She was particularly dedicated to the annual Smithsonian Craft Show and Craft-to-Wear events. Her involvement with the Smithsonian Craft Show included chairing its first online auction. In that role, she secured a significant grant to fund display cases, which remain in use today, and identified the right people to streamline the online process and provide the software platform. She was also instrumental in the Craft Show’s raffle receiving its first donation from artist Dale Chihuly. An early participant in the struggle for equal rights for women, she was also a spokesman for Planned Parenthood and chaired several major events. She was a great lover of animals and cared for multiple pets throughout her life. She was knowledgeable about and collected fine china and linens. Dedicated to her home and neighborhood in northwest Washington DC, for many years she and Bill hosted the annual Labor Day picnics and Halloween festivities on their front lawn. As one neighbor said, “Alice loved her neighborhood, both its domestic and wildlife. She loved sitting on her front porch with her beloved cat Tut and greeting every passerby with a story and sometimes an invitation to summer, if it was summer time. She was generous to the less fortunate around her and pilloried the powerful, including some current officeholders who were frequent recipients of her historical memory and powerful wit. A diehard Democrat, Alice championed both the party’s old lions and its youngest climate activists., Just before she passed, Alice, who regularly responded to pleas of help on the neighborhood blog, appealed for more specific instructions from one teenage neighbor urging action, asking “What can an 88-year-old do for the future?” She was loved by many, feared by some, and challenging to all. In her own way, she was a woman for all seasons. A remembrance service will be held in Washington DC. Please direct inquiries to [email protected] In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Planned Parenthood.