OWLS HEAD — Alice Louise Winters McCartney, 88, died peacefully Nov. 24, 2014, at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, following a short illness.

Born in Waterville on April 16, 1926, she was the daughter of Amos and Georgia Grindle Winters. Alice graduated from the Faye School of Business in Boston in 1946. Thereafter, during the early years of her marriage to Howard R. McCartney, she worked as a bank loan officer and retired as vice president.

Inspired by her brother, Fred's, love of music, Alice began piano lessons as a child and studied through adulthood. She later taught private piano lessons in Augusta, inspiring many future musicians. She also studied the clarinet and played in her high school band. Later she took organ and voice lessons and theory classes to further her musical knowledge. She was the principal accompanist for the graded choir program at Green Street United Methodist Church in Augusta, where she also directed children's and adult bell choirs that regularly performed at Sunday services and participated in regional bell festivals. Alice also served as an accompanist for several elementary school music programs in Augusta.

She toured Europe with The Chorister's Guild in 1973 and attended the Colby Institute for Church Music in Waterville for many summers.

After her children were grown, Alice studied antique doll repair and became a certified instructor in doll reproduction and repair. She opened her own doll business in 1988 called The Raspberry Shed, and provided instruction to many enthusiastic doll makers in the Down East area. Her teaching, artistry and attention to detail were exquisite. She later expanded her business to include porcelain and beaded jewelry.

In 1988, Howard and Alice moved their home to Owls Head, where she became the children's and adult choir director at Pratt Memorial United Methodist Church in Rockland, which later became Aldersgate United Methodist Church. She also directed the adult Bell Choir there and all the choirs performed in many programs, concerts and festivals. Alice retired from those positions in 2010.

In her childhood, along with her father, Amos, and her brother, Fred, she was a member of the Waterville Skating Club. She served as a volunteer for the Pine Tree Camp of Crippled Children and the American Red Cross. Later in life, she was an avid gardener and member of the Owls Head Garden Club, where she served a term as president, a member of the Owls Head Book Club and member of the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland. She was also a past member of the Augusta Symphony Chorus and the Down East Singers in Rockland.

Most notably, Alice was a devoted wife and mother; her children loved and adored her. She will be greatly missed.

Predeceased by two brothers, Frederick Winters and Gordon Winters; Alice is survived by her husband of 68 years, Howard R. McCartney; her son, Peter and his wife, Margaret Glass, of Springfield, Va.; her daughters, Lynn of Nashua, N.H., and Ellen Webster and her husband, Jeffery, of Agua Dulce, Calif.; her son, Eric and his wife, Dottie, of Oneida, Wis.; four grandchildren, Megan, Henry, Claire and Ian; as well as several nieces and nephews.

At the request of the family, there will be no funeral. Burial will be held privately. A gathering of family and friends will take place in the summer of 2015 on Hendricksen's Point in Owls Head, where the wonderful life of Alice will be celebrated and remembered.

Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home.