Elizabeth “Alicia” Le
But it is with great joy that we share the story of an unforgettable source of light and levity whose trademark laugh echoed throughout every room she graced.
Alicia was the life of the party from the moment she was born in Lenoir, NC on August 5, 1974 to Dee Freeman, currently of Raleigh, and Jennie Thompson Price, of Denver, NC. She was the granddaughter of Dr. Charles Robert (Bob) Thompson, Sr. and Betty Dula Thompson Honeycutt of Lenoir and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Freeman of Hudson.
As a six-month-old, her first word was “pretty.” As a baby, she referred to lakes and rivers by saying “look at da duice, mommy” perhaps intending to say, “the juice.” At eight months old, her mother reports that Alicia spoke complete sentences.
For the rest of her days, the “gift of gab” was her engaging calling card wherever she went.
Alicia grew up in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. Alicia came into the world full of innocence and hopefulness and spent most of her years in Brevard. She had a vivacious spirit and lived her life in a happy and joyful way.
She was a gorgeous woman inside and out, with long flowing blonde hair and impeccable taste in clothing. Whenever she went out to the grocery store, she drew the attention of strangers including the elderly who seemed to just need someone to talk to and gravitated to Alicia, sensing her kind heart.
She grew up with an especially close connection to her grandmothers, Granny Helen and Nanny Betty. Alicia and Helen were inseparable. Alicia raved about Granny’s cooking and many of her fondest childhood memories were with her. Alicia had lots of quality time with Nanny, too. In Betty’s later years, they often sat at the table to talk, laugh, and enjoy “The View” on TV.
Alicia loved a cozy set of pajamas, John’s teriyaki salmon and spaghetti and meatballs, peach cobbler with Neapolitan ice cream, and simple things in life that made both happy beyond words.
She also adored gnomes (seriously, she was obsessed with them) and anything “Hello Kitty.”
Oh, how she loved animals. Alicia said “Hello Doggy” to border collie Mar-Le at a local shelter and immediately called John on the phone to ask if she should adopt him. After John said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he came home from work to find the puppy both fell in love with. They also had two cats, Furby and Baby.
She and her husband John, a television news reporter, now in Belmont, were married for 17 years and were together for 23 years altogether. One of their favorite yearly rituals was dressing up for the Southeast Emmy Awards. Alicia always looked so beautiful that folks assumed that she was the one on TV, not John.
She would have preferred to be on television as a soap opera actress. With her flair for the dramatic at times, John joked she could have been the “next Susan Lucci.”
When they lived in Brevard, their favorite weekend activities included eating out at local restaurants and posting memorable photos of their adventures downtown that showed them both beaming together. They were kindred spirits and soulmates in every way. Alicia and John also enjoyed picnics and card games at Pisgah National Forest with family, the picture-perfect setting for great times.
She was a graduate of Brevard High School and Western Carolina University.
In addition to her parents and her husband, she is survived by son Korey, brother, Dr. Robert Freeman (Tiffany) of Fayetteville, NC, brother, Dr. Timothy Glesener, of Hickory, step-brother Edwin D. Price III (Tina), step-brother, Jason Reynolds (Regan) of St. George, Utah. She is also survived by her step-mother, Emily Freeman and step-father, Edwin D. Price Jr., PE.