Alicia Marsh Warnock

August 24, 1953 - October 22, 2015  

Birmingham News

obits.al.com

Thursday morning the Love Queen of Narnia died in the presence of family and friends.  

She is survived by her husband Prince Warnock, and their children: Prince Warnock, Jr.  and Catherine Jordan (Jurdy) Warnock.  She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Betty Marsh, and survived by her siblings: Bryan (wife May Caralyn) Marsh and Judy Jonker. 

A magical lady that gave more than she took from this world at every turn, she started an organization for Parents in Neonatal Intensive Care (PUPS), inspired a close friend to start Children Can Soar, an organization to better utilize the time in clinic waiting rooms to educate parents of special children, a founder and sole practicing therapist of ICAP, and advocate for disabled rights and promotion of better Alabama ADA laws.  

She was an incredible cook, starting her love of food working at The Cook Store and later started Alecia’s Specialty Foods for the manufacture of Alecia’s Tomato and Peach Chutney.  

Everyday she saw the beauty in the world.  She loved flowers, the seasons, and a multitude of adoring friends.  

A memorial service celebrating her remarkable life will be at 3:00 PM on Sunday, October 25 at Narnia - 2332 Montevallo Road, Leeds, AL for all who loved her.  In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to UCP of Greater Birmingham and Full Life Ahead Foundation.  Special thanks to all friends that gave their loving support in the end.  

The following information was shared by Alecia Marsh’s son, Prince Warnock, Jr., and was written by Mary Sigley Brown.  

After graduation Alecia Marsh attended a fashion merchandising school in Dallas, Texas.  Her roommate invited her to Birmingham, Alabama for the Christmas holidays where they attended a Christmas party.   Alecia locked eyes with Prince Warnock across a crowded room and proclaimed “That’s the man I’m going to marry.”  Alecia and Prince hit it off instantly and married a year later.  Alecia commenced her career in fashion merchandising by managing “The Body Shop,” an Alabama clothing store.   

Her plans and early career development were unexpectedly curtailed when her first child, a daughter, Catherine Jordan “Jurdy,” was born with Cerebral Palsy. 
Alecia realigned every aspect of her life and proceeded “in a complete other direction” as she “tackled head-on” the challenges of mothering a special needs child.  She volunteered her time at the hospital physical therapy department in order to offer hands-on therapy assistance to children, including her daughter.  She teamed up with civics organizations to solicit social awareness of Cerebral Palsy.  Ultimately, she testified to Alabama legislators about the need for improvement and expansion of ADA laws.  She relentlessly fought for the rights of disabled citizens and gave back to the community her entire life.  

Alecia had a second child, Prince Warnock, Jr.  The young family spent many joyous weekends at their gulf coast home in the summer months,    Prince, Jr. recalls that in his childhood he accompanied his parents and sister on road trips to New York for Jurdy’s surgeries that were not yet available in Alabama.  During these trips they would read aloud from The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, which became a beloved tale within their family.   When Alecia surprisingly purchased a new country homestead for her growing family, (in her husband’s absence during a business trip) she announced to her family  “I have found our Narnia.” Her moniker was “The Queen of Narnia.”  Prince returned home and embraced it all:  an amazing 20-acre parcel with a river and woods and caretaker cottage that accompanied a farmhouse previously owned by a doctor who practiced in nearby Birmingham.  It was the perfect place, suiting a woman who loved beauty.  There she gardened vegetables and flowers and loved her life.   

Their spacious farmhouse, “a big, open, loving home” provided accessibility for Jurdy and ample room for the entertaining of friends and family.  It was common for the Warnock family to feed 12-16 people on Sundays and celebrate Christmas with a group of 40-70 friends.  Both Alecia and her husband, Prince, enjoyed preparing food and made it their offering of love to their guests.  Alecia began making chutney at Christmas each year.  Word got around.  

The community took notice of Alecia’s 3 wonderful chutneys: tomato, peach, and chipotle.  Soon local restaurants asked to be supplied with them.  Scrambling between rented commercial kitchens, the Warnocks finally created a dedicated commercial kitchen in their caretaker cottage and “Alecia’s Specialty Foods” was established.  Alecia also recognized this opportunity as suitable to hire individuals with special needs.  She won awards for this innovative business model which, in Alecia’s instance, far preceded the eventual trend towards the practice.  Long story short:  Alecia’s chutneys are featured in 367 restaurants, including 2 in Colorado:  Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe in Denver (on Hampden) and Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe in Northglenn (on 120th).  The website is aleciaschutney.com.  

Alecia had fond memories of Boulder and missed it at times.  She went on a fun trip with 3 or 4 Boulder girlfriends.  When her son was 8 or 9, she took him to Boulder to  share the hallowed stomping ground of the BHS Class of 1971.      

Alecia undertook a project of her own design and development which enriched the lives of underprivileged Birmingham youth.  She transported and introduced them to programs and museums that exposed them to forms of art and the appreciation of artists.  She introduced them to her friend, Southern Folk Artist, Chris Clark, whose work is featured at the Smithsonian.  Alecia and Chris worked together to broaden and enhance the lives of these youth beyond their disadvantaged urban neighborhoods.   

Alecia traveled a couple of times per year.  The last vacation she enjoyed was with her husband, Prince, to Italy for two weeks.  They visited the Amalfi Coast, Tuscany, Pompeii, Venice, and northern Italy.  The attached photo of Alecia, which her son loves, was taken on her last trip to Italy, showing her beauty and the love expressed in her eyes.  

Prince, Jr. described his mother as “the best mother a guy could ask for.  She lit up a room and had so much to give.  She never met her grandson, but I know she would have been ten times as great a grandmother as she was a mother.”  Her family spread some of her ashes at the Flatirons in Boulder.