When Alice Law Malcolm set her mind on a goal, there was no stopping her.
Known as the “heart and soul” of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, Malcolm was admired as a dedicated administrator and strong student advocate.
She started at the school as a parent and teacher and later rose to top administrator.
During her 37-year tenure, the school grew from a small parish preschool to one of metro Atlanta’s largest independent schools, serving 3-year-olds to 12th-graders.
“She might have been petite, but she was feisty,” said friend and former Holy Innocents’ parent Missie Pierce of Atlanta. “She knew exactly what she wanted and would find a way to make her ideas become a reality. Her strong faith brought balance to her life. She was incredible.”
Malcolm of Sandy Springs died Saturday after a long illness. She was 86. Her funeral will be at 4 p.m. Thursday at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church, followed by a reception and visitation from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Holy Innocents’ school.
Born in January 1929 in Atlanta, Malcolm, an only child, had an affinity for art and nature early on. As a child, she loved fishing with her father.
After high school, she received a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia. She later earned a master’s degree in education administration from Georgia State University.
In 1950, she married her college sweetheart Owen Hurst Malcolm, who she met while at UGA. He died in 2002.
Malcolm began her career at Holy Innocents’ in 1959, the year the school opened.
A mother of a preschooler at the new school, she started as an art teacher, rose to dean of students and became the school’s headmaster in 1983.
“She was known not just as the artistic instructor. She was an excellent administrator,” said her son Geoffrey Thomas Malcolm of Atlanta. “She was very organized. She supported the children and was concerned about their overall well being. She also was very good at motivating people to join her in that effort and at hiring the right people. Holy Innocents’ was her life.”
Under her leadership, the school acquired Fulton County’s Riley Elementary School, which gave it room to expand and establish an Upper School.
She was “one of the pillars of this place – a person who possessed a rare combination of courage, commitment, humility, and tenderness,” Paul Barton, Holy Innocents’ head of school, said in a statement. “Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School was blessed by her presence and continues to be guided by her spirit.”
After nearly four decades with the school, Malcolm retired in 1996. The Upper School library is named in her honor. Students sing the Malcolm hymn at special events. Each year, the school presents the Alice L. Malcolm Headmaster’s Award to a rising senior who best exemplifies the school philosophy.
In 2012, she was named one of Georgia’s Personal Women of Achievement and received the Holy Innocents’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.
In her spare time, Malcolm enjoyed needlepoint, gardening, gourmet cooking and painting water scenes. She loved decorating for Christmas and trips to the beach, but hated flying and rarely traveled by plane.
A devoted Georgia Bulldogs fan, she also was fond of Tab soft drinks, baby back ribs, Godiva chocolate, flannel sheets and frosted oranges from the Varsity.
“She had a brilliant mind combined with many artistic talents,” Pierce said. “Her sewing, smocking and creative painting projects became prized possessions for many. I love Alice and will miss her smile and warm hugs.”
In addition to her son Geoffrey, Malcolm is survived by her sons Owen Hurst “Pete” Malcolm Jr. of North Carolina and Andrew Law Malcolm of Atlanta; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
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