Alice Bastian, daughter of Louise Hippert and Nicolas Emile Bastian, was born on 29 March 1894 in Eich. Her father ran a timber business.
She married Félix Chomé, a Belgian engineer. The couple lived in Aachen for two years, where Félix Chomé managed the steelworks of the ARBED group. It was during their stay in Germany that their only child Jean was born, but he was taken away from them a few months after his birth in 1925.
On their return to Luxembourg in 1926, the couple moved into their parents' house in Eich, a villa surrounded by parkland and the future site of the foundation.
Although the couple was very wealthy, Alice Chomé-Bastian led a simple life. Roland Hoff describes the slim-framed lady as "discreet and thrifty, always wearing the same pearl necklace and earrings. Mrs. Chomé-Bastian is careful with expenses and only turns on the heating from the first of November to the first of April, regardless of the weather conditions. The couple employs only one maid and a gardener who is responsible for the large garden, the henhouse and the vegetable garden. The lady of the house cherishes the vegetable garden, which is a real asset to her vegetarian diet. Alice Chomé-Bastian is also a sportswoman, she likes to go for walks and she often swims in the outdoor pool, which is fed by unheated spring water! Another passion of the patron of the arts is flowers. Numerous rose bushes line the paths of the park and provide her with beautiful flowers to arrange in bouquets.
The Chomé-Bastian couple's desire to do good was immense and manifested itself early on: as owners of shares in the Belgo Mineira group in Brazil, they bequeathed the profits to the foundation they had set up in Brazil, which gave scholarships to students.
After the death of Félix Chomé on 6 January 1972, Alice Chomé-Bastian decided to create the Félix Chomé Foundation at the end of 1972 in memory of her husband. She chaired the board of directors until his death on 14 August 1981.
At the beginning, the foundation's main purpose was to build and manage a residence for autonomous elderly women on modest incomes who would be welcomed without restriction according to a principle of political, religious, ideological and philosophical neutrality. At the time, this type of initiative was an appropriate response to the often dramatic material situations faced by many elderly, widowed or divorced women.
Since 2001, the Chomé Foundation has also been open to men.
Source:
● Mr. Roland Hoff, Honorary President as advisor of the Félix Chomé Foundation