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Lena Marinelli, 84, retired seamstress
Lena P. Marinelli of 16 St. John’s Road, a retired seamstress, died on Saturday, Jan. 27, at Laurelwood Rehabilitation Center. She was 84 years old and the widow of Leno J. Marinelli.
Mrs. Marinelli was born in New Haven, Nov. 17, 1916, a daughter of the late Louis and Elsilia Omicioli. She grew up in New Haven and attended schools there.
Mrs. Marinelli and her family came to Ridgefield in 1950. She was a seamstress by trade, and had worked in New Haven and later in Danbury. She had also done house cleaning in Ridgefield for many years.
She was a member of St. Mary’s Church, Ridgefield.
Her survivors include her son, Gary L. Marinelli of Ridgefield; a brother, Andrew Omicioli of New Haven; three sisters, Mary Brunetti of Hamden, Helen Berluti of Orange and Irene Wiskoski of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; as well as several nieces and nephews, including Marty Marinelli of Ridgefield.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Tuesday in St. Mary’s Church. Burial was in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Contributions in Mrs. Marinelli’s memory may be made to Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut, 30 West Street, Danbury, CT 06810.
The Kane Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Lillian D. Leff, 85, model and manager
Lillian D. Leff of 640 Danbury Road, a former millinery model who had a later career in the corporate world, died Sunday, Jan. 28, at Danbury Hospital. She was 85 years old and the widow of Max Leff.
Mrs. Leff, who was known as Billie, was born on July 27, 1915, in New York City, a daughter of Louis and Jean Zinn Schlossberg. She grew up in Brooklyn and, as a high school student, was active in the Thespian Club, appearing in the leads of several school plays. After graduation, she became a millinery model for a department store in New York.
At 19, she married Max Leff and began raising a family of two daughters, Jane and Blossom Leff. Blossom died in 1948 at the age of 12, the victim of a drunken driver.
In 1953, Mrs Leff went to work for the Equitable Life Assurance Company in New York, starting out as a keypunch operator. She then joined Loews, the theater and hotel company, at its corporate headquarters, retiring in 1978 as the manager of a payroll division.
Mrs. Leff, who had lived in Forest Hills, Queens, for 30 years, retired to Deerfield Beach, Fla., where she was a volunteer with the local library. Two years ago, she moved to Ridgefield, one of the first residents at the then-new Chancellor Park condominiums.
“She loved the fact that she wound up living in Ridgefield,” said her daughter, Jane Leff, who is a 31-year resident. “She always loved Ridgefield. And she loved the staff at Chancellor Park.
Over the years Mrs. Leff enjoyed both sewing and knitting. “She read a great deal and she loved old movies,” her daughter said.
“She was a beautiful woman,” Ms. Leff added.
Besides her daughter and her daughter’s husband, Ross Fenster, Mrs. Leff is survived by two grandchildren: Jordan Cumming and her husband, Rory, of Darien; and Mark Gregory of Boca Raton, Fla; and a great-grandchild, Maxwell Cumming.
Services will be conducted today, Thursday, at 11 a.m. at Temple Shearith Israel, 46 Peaceable Street.
Burial will follow in Mt. Lebanon Cemetery, Queens, N.Y.
Contributions in Mrs. Leff’s memory may be made to the Cardiac Care Unit of Danbury Hospital, c/o Danbury Hospital Development Fund, 24 Hospital Avenue, Danbury, CT 06810.
The Kane Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Evelyne H. Leeds, active in the arts
Evelyne Hartfield Leeds, a founding member of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, died on Nov. 1 at home in Ridgefield.
Mrs. Leeds was born in Anaheim, Calif., where her family had many interests including citrus ranching and real estate development.
As a child, she moved to Los Angeles with her family, living in Hancock Park, Fremont Place, and eventually Beverly Hills.
In 1945, she attended the opening sessions of the United Nations in San Francisco. A lifelong lover of music and the arts, she was a founding member of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She also enjoyed travel, especially to France and to England where she liked to visit friends and family.
She was married and widowed twice. With her first husband, film director and OSS veteran, Herbert I. Leeds, she lived in Beverly Hills where she remained following his death until she moved to New York to marry Sidney Milan in the 1970s. Since 1980, she has lived in Ridgefield.
“Known for her charm, gentleness, and devotion to her family, she was regarded by those who knew her with fondness and admiration,” the family said.
She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Lydia and Patrick Hoban of Ridgefield.
Services were private.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Robert L. Fine Cancer Research Lab Foundation at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York or to the Visiting Nurse Association of Ridgefield, 90 East Ridge.
The Kane Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Claire C. Lee, 76, advertising executive
Claire Cobham Lee, a retired advertising executive with tastes that ranged from politics to gardening, died Wednesday, Nov. 29, at her home on Wilton Road West after an extended illness. She was 76, the widow of the late Walter M. Lee, and the mother of two daughters.
Mrs. Lee was born in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 18, 1924, a daughter of the late Emin and Ethel Rundquist Cobham. She grew up in New York City, met her husband in the advertising industry, and they moved from the city to Ridgefield 25 years ago.
She had a long career as an account executive and creative director in advertising. Mrs. Lee was first with S.R. Leon Co. Inc. of New York City and Great Neck, Long Island, N.Y., where she attained the position of vice president. After more than 40 years there, she joined Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals in 1984, and worked there as merchandising manager for consumer products until her retirement in 1992.
“She worked with them at the old high school, and moved with them” to Ridgebury, said her daughter Michael Anne Lee of Stone Mountain, Ga.
Ms. Lee described her mother as “witty, sophisticated, charming and courageous.”
“She chose to die at home,” she said.
In her free time Mrs. Lee enjoyed reading, gardening, her pet cats, and following politics, both national and local.
“She cast her vote,” her daughter said. “Even though she was very sick, she had me take her down there so she could vote in November.”
Her husband died in January 1999.
Beside her daughter from Georgia, survivors include another daughter, Deborah Jean Lee of Westport, Mass., two grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren as well as several nieces and one nephew.
Private funeral services will be conducted at the convenience of the family.
Contributions in Mrs. Lee’s memory may be made to the Ridgefield VNA, 90 East Ridge, Ridgefield 06877 or to the Whittingham Cancer Center at Norwalk Hospital, 24 Stevens Street, Norwalk 06856.
Edward Kruelski, 86, horticulturist
Edward Anthony Kruelski of 5 Hollandale Road, Danbury, a horticulturist and conservationist who had lived in Ridgefield for nearly 40 years, died on Friday, Dec. 8, at Danbury Hospital. He was 86 years old and the husband of Maria K. Kruelski.
Although he had been a longtime naval officer and a metallurgist, Mr. Kruelski was best known here for his vast knowledge of plants — from obscure ferns found only in certain remote hollows of Ridgebury to more common wildflowers, shrubs and trees, both native and introduced.
“Horticulturally, he was a great help to many committees in town,” said Edith Meffley, longtime member of the Conservation Commission and the Ridgefield Garden Club. “I admired the man greatly.”
Mr. Kruelski was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Oct. 12, 1914, a son of the late Anthony and Frances (Krupinska) Kruelski. He attended New York schools, graduated from the Pratt Institute, and attended Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute.
He served in the U. S. Navy during World War II, leaving active duty with the rank of lieutenant. He remained active in the Naval Reserve for many years, attaining the rank of lieutenant commander.
He and Mrs. Kruelski, a violinist and former planning and zoning administrative assistant, were married in 1948 in lived in Queens and on Long Island for many years. Mr. Kruelski had a long career as a metallurgical chemist.
In 1960, the Kruelskis bought a home on High Ridge and lived there for 37 years before moving to Danbury in 1997.
Mr. Kruelski’s interest in nature and horticulture spanned his lifetime. He served as a past president of the Newark (N.J.) Nature Club, was active with the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, volunteered countless hours at the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford, and participated in the planning and development of nature trails for many Ridgefield elementary schools.
He served on the Ridgefield Conservation Commission in the 1970s, and had also helped the Ballard Greenhouse, garden clubs and other organizations. He often volunteered to plant trees and shrubs and assist groups in horticultural projects.
For a while in the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Kruelski turned his experience with and love of horticulture into a career in landscape architecture and subsequently established his own commercial landscaping business. He planted many of the trees that are at Copps Hill Plaza and at the Grand Union shopping center.
Mrs. Meffley recalls his introducing the katsura, which he used at Copps Hill. The tree that’s native to Japan proved to be a useful, pest-free, and durable species that’s also attractive.
An active Democrat, Mr. Kruelski had served on the Democratic Town Committee, and often worked in support of Democratic candidates for local office.
Besides his wife, Mr. Kruelski is survived by a daughter, Elaine Dykman and her husband, Robert of New Fairfield; two sons, Edward A. Kruelski Jr. of Danbury and Donald Kruelski and his wife, Mary Foster of Herndon, Va.; three sisters, Mattie Meyer of Bloomfield, Ruth Zaphiropoulos of Los Altos, Calif., and Gertrude Donahue of Novato, Calif.; four grandchildren, Ted, Alex, Alyssa and Robert III.
Two sisters, Peggy Ann Rhode and Frances Harry, died before him.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Tuesday in St. Mary’s Church. Burial was in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Contributions in Mr. Kruelski’s memory may be made to the Danbury Hospital Oncology Unit, 24 Hospital Avenue, Danbury, CT 06810 or to the Bartlett Arboretum, 151 Brookdale Road, Stamford, CT 06904.
The Jowdy-Kane Funeral Home, Danbury, was in charge of arrangements.
Loula Kontogianis, Chicago native
Loula Kontogianis of Serfilippi Drive, a great-grandmother who moved to Ridgefield from Chicago 13 years ago, died Thursday, Oct. 26, at Danbury Hospital. She was 88, the wife of the late John A. Kontogianis, and mother of Ridgefield resident Anne Anaszewicz.
Mrs. Kontogianis was born in Chicago in May 1912, the daughter of the late Frank and Mark Karzis Kakarakis. A Ridgefield resident since 1987, she was a member of the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Danbury and former longtime member of St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago.
She enjoyed music, cooking, playing cards, but most of all, her family.
Besides her daughter in Ridgefield, she is survived by another daughter, Frances Lampa of Minnesota; a brother, James Kakarakis of Northfield, Ill.; two sisters, Thalia Geroulis of Chicago and Chris Kartsunes of Evanston, Ill.; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Jowdy-Kane Funeral Home, 9-11 Granville Avenue, Danbury, handled arrangements. Burial was in Elmwood Cemetery in Chicago.
Contributions in Mrs. Kontogianis’s memory may be made to the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 30 Clapboard Ridge Road, Danbury, CT 06811.
Linda Kinsman, mother and student
Linda Ann Kinsman, a mother, student and Con Edison supervisor, died on Friday evening, Dec. 1, at Danbury Hospital. She was 38, the wife of Edward Kinsman and lived on Mountain Road.
Mrs. Kinsman was born in the Bronx, N.Y., Dec. 18, 1961, a daughter of Frank and Ruth (Larocca) Nicotra, both of Pelham Manor, N.Y. She attended St. Claire’s School in the Bronx, graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School and Fordham University, and was enrolled in the MBA program at Mercy College Graduate School when she died.
She was a customer service supervisor for Con Edison of New York.
Mrs. Kinsman moved to Ridgefield six years ago from Cortland Manor, N.Y. She was an active member of the American Cancer Society of Fairfield County and was an award recipient as well as being named honorary chairperson of the society’s 2000 Dreamer’s Ball.
She was also a member of the Ridgefield Newcomers Club and of St. Elizabeth Seton Church of Ridgefield.
Besides her husband and parents, she is survived by two daughters, Kimberly Ann Kinsman and Victoria Grace Kinsman, both of Ridgefield; a brother, John Nicotra and his wife, Lisa Nicotra, of Minneapolis, Minn.; her father-in-law, Edward Kinsman of the Bronx, N.Y.; a sister-in-law, Kathleen Salvemini and her husband, Dominick of Northport, N.Y.; a brother-in-law, Kenneth Kinsman of the Bronx, as well as two nieces, Tara Salvemini and Valerie Salvemini.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Wednesday morning in St. Elizabeth Seton Church on Ridgebury Road, with burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Ridgefield.
Friends were received in the Kane Funeral Home, 41 Catoonah Street, on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
Contributions in Mrs. Kinsman’s memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 372 Danbury Road, Wilton, CT 06897.
