Anita Marie  ALENCE

November 7, 2011 - Royal Cape Cod Women Vets Friends for Life
By Scott Wahle

Buzzards Bay - When Anita Alence and Millie Feist talk over old times, they’ve got plenty of old times to talk over. The two women, roommates at Royal Cape Cod Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Buzzards Bay, share almost 70 years of friendship, but they share more than that: each has proudly worn the uniform as a member of the U.S. armed forces.

Brooklyn-born Anita, 90, was a Marine Corps pioneer, enlisting in 1942 at the height of World War II with the very first class of women Marines, and she made it her career for the next 30 years. And Millie, 94, a native of Somerville, joined the Navy in 1943, serving 4 years as a chief specialist.

Millie’s father had been a Navy man in World War I along with his four brothers, so she knew all about that branch of the service. But why enlist?

“I wanted to get in there and do something to better the world,” says Millie.

And Anita?

“To help the

Mildred A. “Millie” Feist, 96, of Buzzards Bay, died September 23, 2013 in the Royal Cape Cod Nursing Home, Buzzards Bay. She was the daughter of the late Herbert O. and Olive S. (Clark) Feist.
She was born in Somerville and lived in Framingham before moving to Buzzards Bay.

Miss Feist studied at the Boston Conservatory. In her early years, she volunteered at the Settlement House in E. Boston.

She was a veteran of WWII serving in the U.S. Navy as a Chief Petty Officer and Bereavement Chaplain. She also served in the National Guard.

Miss Feist worked as a receptionist for Sun Life Assurance for many years before retiring. Previously she worked as a dental secretary for 20 years in the Back Bay.

She was a long time parishioner at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Newton and active in its Women’s Guild. She was also a member of St. Peter’s on the Canal Church in Buzzards Bay.

She was a member of the Navy Whitecap, the American Legion Post in Newton, the Women’s Defense Corps

Anita M. Alence, 91, of Buzzards Bay, formerly of Framingham, died July 30, 2013 in the Royal Cape Cod Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Buzzards Bay. She was the daughter of the late Richard F. and Beatrice I. (Theinert) Alence. She was born in Brooklyn, NY and lived in Framingham for many years before moving to Buzzards Bay. Miss Alence served in the United States Marine Corps for over 30 years, retiring as a Gunnery Sergeant. She was in the first contingent of 253 women Marines in 1941. While serving in the Marines, she was stationed at the Pentagon, U.S. Embassy at Santo Domingo and the Intelligence School at Anacostia. She was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Miss Alence was a member of the Bay State Chapter of Women Marines Association and served as Chaplain for the Marine Corp League. She was a member of the Korean War Veterans of Massachusetts. She was a member of St. James Church in Wellesley where she served as the first female Eucharistic