Atlanta's Women of Distinction

Alice Stubbs Hawthorne

1952 — 1996
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This 44-year old mother from Albany lost her life while celebrating the 'human spirit' at the 1996 Olympics...

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Alice S. Hawthorne
​Alice S. Hawthorne did not run a single lap or win a single competition but her name will be associated with the 1996 Olympics Games forever. Mrs. Hawthorne (44) died in the early morning hours of July 27, 1996 from a bomb blast that sprayed shrapnel across the area where she was standing in Centennial Olympic Park.

Mrs. Hawthorne will forever be remembered as one who lost her life while celebrating the human spirit at the Olympics," said Gordon Joyner, a member of the Fulton County Commission. Fallon, her 14-year-old daughter, was injured when shrapnel from the blast gouged deep into an arm and a leg. Her mother had taken Fallon to the Olympics (from Albany, GA) as a birthday gift.

A former United States Army lieutenant, Mrs. Hawthorne was a co-owner of Fallon's Ice Cream Parlor (named after her daughter) and receptionist of the local cable company in Albany, GA. Friends remembered her as a tireless civic work for the Chamber of Commerce. She was one of the first women to be accepted as a member of the American Legion chapter.
​Virtually everyone who knew her agreed that Alice Hawthorne will best be remembered as someone who brought people together. "The Hawthorne family lived their lives for others," Mayor Tommy Coleman of Albany said. "This lady will be remembered as a person who believed in the coming together of others, and not because of a cowardly act of violence."

Source: New York Times
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Women of Distinction Tour ​created by ATLsherpa

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Alice's Story by ATLsherpa

"Quilt of Remembrance" features a mosaic of stones from around the world to honor the 111 people injured by the 1996 Olympic Park bombing. An eternal light shines in this plaza in memory of Alice Hawthorne, who perished.
"Quilt of Remembrance" features a mosaic of stones from around the world to honor the 111 people injured by the 1996 Olympic Park bombing. An eternal light shines in this plaza in memory of Alice Hawthorne, who perished.
Aerial view of Centennial Olympic Park bombing site
The Quilt of Origins captures the enduring essence of the Olympic Games with a sculpture that symbolically honors the progression of athletes from the original Greek Olympians to modern-day competitors.
Shrapnel damage on the Quilt of Origins from 1996 bombing at Centennial Olympic Park.
Investigators inspecting the scene at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, where a pipe bomb exploded on July 27, 1996, disrupting the Summer Olympic Games. Eric Draper/AP
Flowers and flags adorn the site of the bombing in Centennial Olympic Park on Tuesday, July 30, 1996 in Atlanta. Thousands of people visited the reopened park Tuesday, as the FBI continued its search for the bomber. (AP Photo/Bob Galbraith)
​Quilt of Remembrance: It is one of the saddest ironies of history that great gatherings of peace sometimes attract violence. Here, in the early morning hours of July 27, 1996, where tens of thousands came to celebrate the unity of humanity, an explosion rocked Centennial Olympic Park taking the lives of Alice Stubbs Hawthorne and Melih Uzunyol and injuring 111 others. In the mosaic of this quilt – in the natural colors of stones gathered from around the world – the memory of that night is enshrined. May it remind all those who visit here that the light of peace will never be extinguished by anonymous acts of terror.
Media Coverage of Olympic Park Bombing on July 27, 1996 (AP Archive)

How & Where to Connect

In Atlanta, the are two places to connect with Alice Hawthorne:
  1. Centennial Olympic Park
  2. Westview Cemetery

​Instructions for getting to both are provided below.
OLYMPIC PARK
​​The "Quilt of Remembrance" features a mosaic of stones from around the world to honor the 111 people injured by the 1996 Olympic Park bombing. An eternal light shines in this plaza in memory of Alice Hawthorne, who perished. 

WESTVIEW CEMETERY
​Alice Hawthorne is buried at Westview Cemetery in Section 38, Lot 1188 A, Grave 2.
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Quilt of Remembrance Plaza in Centennial Olympic Park

Getting there...

The Quilt of Remembrance is located on the east side of Centennial Olympic Park in Downtown Atlanta. It is a 15-minute walk from the State Farm Arena MARTA station. It is just inside the gate shown in the Google Street Map below.

Centennial Olympic Park
265 Park Ave W NW
Atlanta, GA 30313
Driving Directions | Visitor Info | Park Map (PDF)

Alice Hawthorne is buried at Westview Cemetery in Section 38, Lot 1188 A, Grave 2. This is on the north side (MLK Drive) of the cemetery grounds. The main entrance to the cemetery is shown in the Google Street Map below.

Westview Cemetery
1680 Westview Dr SW
Atlanta, GA 30310
Driving Directions | Visitor Info | Cemetery Map (PDF)

Don't miss...

  • Centennial Olympic Park
  • Georgia Aquarium
  • Pemberton Place
  • World of Coca Cola
  • National Center for Civil & Human Rights

Learn more...

  • Woman Who 'Lost Her Life While Celebrating the Human Spirit' (NY Times)
  • Tour of Quilt Plazas & Water Gardens in Centennial Olympic Park (GWCC) 
  • Facts & Timeline: 1996 Olympic Park Bombing (CNN)
  • Atlanta Olympic Bombing: Key facts about 1996 bomb at Centennial Park (AJC)
  • ​Daughter of Olympic bombing victim: ‘It was a terrible, terrible day’ (AJC)
  • Bombing victim's daughter elated over Rudolph's capture (WALB)
  • Olympics Bombing Victim Remembers The Night (WABE)
  • American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell​ (Vanity Fair)
  • Richard Jewell (Warner Brothers movie, 2019)
  • Atlanta newspaper criticizes new movie's take on late reporter (WGXA)
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