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Flora Stetz

Flora Allegretti Stetz, a true Renaissance woman and beloved wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend, passed away on Aug. 16, 2024, two days before her 80th birthday, surrounded by her family and dearest friends.

Flora was a global citizen: born in Patras, Greece, on Aug.19, 1944, she spent her early years in Florence, Italy, ultimately moving to New York City with her parents and sister, Anna Maria. In New York, as she was walking in to take the SATs, which would lead her to graduate from Marymount Manhattan College, she encountered John Stetz, waiting hopefully in a pre-arranged meeting – and it sparked a love for the ages. They married on Jan. 27, 1968, and started their lives and journey together.

Flora and John embodied the spirit of the phrase, “Home is where the heart is.” Primarily for John’s work, they moved quite a bit, especially in the early days. From Jackson Heights and Syosset, New York, to Essex, and westward to Ohio. and back again – Flora created a warm home filled with friends, new and old, everywhere they went. When John retired, they started spending more time in Italy where they restored a farmhouse in the Umbrian hills and hosted countless friends, sometimes for dinner, sometimes for a month. They lived a life many only talk and dream of – hours-long lunches, simple evening strolls in town, and tending to the vineyards and olive groves to make wine and oil.

Flora had a diverse career that spanned teaching high school to commercial real estate, to translation and interpretation. After completing her graduate studies, she ultimately landed on an incredible confluence of her passions as a professor of language and opera diction at Southern Connecticut State University and the Yale School of Music. Flora was a gifted artist who was overly humble about her incredible talent. After much encouragement, she held a highly successful show of her work at her residence in Essex Meadows in 2022, donating the proceeds to a beloved charity and finally sharing her diverse paintings with so many in her community.

Flora is survived by her devoted husband, John, who cared for her valiantly throughout their life together but especially during her fight with ALS; her sister Anna Maria; as well her children, John (Shannon) and Lori (Chad); and her four beautiful granddaughters: Anika, Olivia, Malena and Allegra. She is preceded in death by her parents, Giovanni and Teresa, and her precious nephew Michele.

A celebration of life will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Essex Yacht Club. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to the ALS Association (als.org) or to TargetCancer Foundation (targetcancer.org). To share a memory of Flora or send a condolence to her family, please visit www.rwwfh.com. Arrangements are in the care of the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook.