Candace Baird Alig Van Alen. Newport socialite; inductee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Daughter of Otto Fidèle and Candace Baird. Wife for 43 years to James Henry Van Alen (1902-1991); "Jimmy"; renowned businessman and tennis player; founder of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. A passionate writer, she was the author of a weekly column "Between The Lines" with her husband; which won notoriety for it's excellent advice on designs for the living room, dining room and kitchen. An accomplished athletic, she was an avid golfer, swimmer and tennis player; all of which she could compete in successfully. Conservative in mind and opinion, she and her husband hosted the loveliest republican fundraising dinners at their Newport home 'Avalon' ~ a mediterranean villa overlooking the ocean, to which as many as two-hundred guests would be in attendance; all enjoying lively music from the 60-piece orchestra; sparkling wine served by footmen in white; and animated dancing from others. Coming from one of Newport's oldest families, she, with friends Noreen Drexel and Mrs. John Nicholas Brown, came to grip complete authority over whichever nouveau riche elite made it in or out. Traditional in her values, she refrained from drinking cocktails until after 6:00 p.m., claiming it "ruins the whole day!", and could be seen at cocktail parties drinking a glass of purified water. Having divorced her first husband Kevin Vanderlip (d. 1956) in the 1940's, she was married to Jimmy Van Alen in 1948. Sharing an intensely loving relationship, their forty-three years of marriage were perhaps the happiest years of their life; filled with countless joyful memories of their travels across the world or the time they shared in Newport and Long Island. Helping to restore the crumbling Newport Casino; whose velvet green lawn courts once housed the finest notables in the world of tennis; she worked with her husband to help establish the old building as the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame ~ later changed to International Tennis Hall of Fame ~ in 1954. Candy and Jimmy bore no children.
Note: Candy Van Alen is buried beside her husband; along with other members of the Van Alen family, including Jimmy's mother, Daisy Bruguiere, and sister, Louise Mdivani.
Note: Candy Van Alen is buried beside her husband; along with other members of the Van Alen family, including Jimmy's mother, Daisy Bruguiere, and sister, Louise Mdivani.
Candace Baird Alig Van Alen. Newport socialite; inductee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Daughter of Otto Fidèle and Candace Baird. Wife for 43 years to James Henry Van Alen (1902-1991); "Jimmy"; renowned businessman and tennis player; founder of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. A passionate writer, she was the author of a weekly column "Between The Lines" with her husband; which won notoriety for it's excellent advice on designs for the living room, dining room and kitchen. An accomplished athletic, she was an avid golfer, swimmer and tennis player; all of which she could compete in successfully. Conservative in mind and opinion, she and her husband hosted the loveliest republican fundraising dinners at their Newport home 'Avalon' ~ a mediterranean villa overlooking the ocean, to which as many as two-hundred guests would be in attendance; all enjoying lively music from the 60-piece orchestra; sparkling wine served by footmen in white; and animated dancing from others. Coming from one of Newport's oldest families, she, with friends Noreen Drexel and Mrs. John Nicholas Brown, came to grip complete authority over whichever nouveau riche elite made it in or out. Traditional in her values, she refrained from drinking cocktails until after 6:00 p.m., claiming it "ruins the whole day!", and could be seen at cocktail parties drinking a glass of purified water. Having divorced her first husband Kevin Vanderlip (d. 1956) in the 1940's, she was married to Jimmy Van Alen in 1948. Sharing an intensely loving relationship, their forty-three years of marriage were perhaps the happiest years of their life; filled with countless joyful memories of their travels across the world or the time they shared in Newport and Long Island. Helping to restore the crumbling Newport Casino; whose velvet green lawn courts once housed the finest notables in the world of tennis; she worked with her husband to help establish the old building as the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame ~ later changed to International Tennis Hall of Fame ~ in 1954. Candy and Jimmy bore no children.
Note: Candy Van Alen is buried beside her husband; along with other members of the Van Alen family, including Jimmy's mother, Daisy Bruguiere, and sister, Louise Mdivani.
Note: Candy Van Alen is buried beside her husband; along with other members of the Van Alen family, including Jimmy's mother, Daisy Bruguiere, and sister, Louise Mdivani.
