Alexis J. Anderson of Newton and West Tisbury, teacher, mother, and wife, died peacefully on Sept. 20, 2019, of cancer.
Alexis and her husband were regular visitors to the Vineyard while their two children were young, and became part-time West Tisbury residents in 2008. Her plan to become a full-time Vineyard resident following her retirement was interrupted by her illness.
She was born in 1951, the only child of Wesley E. Anderson and Jane W. Anderson, formerly of Centerville, Del. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from Wake Forest University. After two years of teaching in Georgia public schools, she attended a joint degree program at the University of Virginia, which awarded her a master’s degree in legal history and a law degree in 1978.
Alexis was in private legal practice in Philadelphia, Pa., for five years following her law school graduation. In 1983, she became a clinical professor at Boston College Law School. Alexis’s academic career principally included serving as a clinical supervisor, and, for five years, director at the Boston College Legal Services LAB, which provides civil representation to low-income clients in communities surrounding the law school. She also designed and taught first-year experiential courses, directed externship programs, and offered courses on professional responsibility and legal history.
Combining her loves of teaching and travel, Alexis led courses in law school and university programs in London, Paris, Beijing, and Tashkent. She authored numerous publications and presentations, principally in the field of clinical legal education. With her retirement in June 2019, she became an associate clinical professor emerita at Boston College Law School.
At her retirement party, faculty colleagues offered up one-word descriptors of Alexis. Topping the list were generous and thoughtful. Others included leader, gracious, humble, adoring-mother, fantastic-colleague, supportive, loving, organized, compassionate, and upbeat.
Apart from her teaching and family, a portrait of Alexis must include her passion for the pursuit of social justice, her love of political dialogue, and the pleasures she took from baking (to the delight of her family and friends) and reading (like her mother, she never went anywhere without one or more books within reach). She delighted in her annual Mother’s Day plunge into the chilly early spring waters of Lambert’s Cove, which originated after a challenge from her older daughter. By summer, her routines included swimming laps along the beach, trips to farmers markets, and sending progress reports on the local nesting osprey pair to her daughters.
Alexis is survived by her husband of 35 years, Alexander A. Notopoulos Jr.; their two daughters, Andrea (“Andy”) and Margaret (“Maggie”) Notopoulos, and her sister-in-law, Patricia Notopoulos.
The time and place of a celebration of Alexis’ life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to Boston College Law School for the benefit of the Boston College Legal Services LAB (BC Law Advancement Office, Cadigan Alumni Center, 2121 Commonwealth Avenue, Brighton, MA 02135, or at bc.edu/givelaw, selecting “Other” and designating Law-BC Legal Services LAB under “I wish to make my gift to”).
The post Alexis J. Anderson appeared first on The Martha's Vineyard Times.