Active community member and volunteer
Connie von Loesecke. (Courtesy photo)
Constance (Sturenburg) von Loesecke, 86, of Warren Avenue, died Friday, March 9, 2012, at Apple Valley Center, Ayer. Formerly of Needham, she died following complications after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. The only child of Otto H. and Else M. (Faehrmann) Sturenburg, she leaves behind her husband of 64 years, Paul H. von Loesecke; two sons and their wives, David S. and Karen J. von Loesecke of Hingham, and Peter S. and Alice J. von Loesecke of Harvard; and five grandchildren, Kristen, Emily, Tyler, Claire, and Jeffrey.
Born in Brooklyn on Sept. 6, 1925, “Connie” was raised in Newton Highlands, Mass., attended Newton Public Schools, and graduated from Dana Hall School. She was a devoted summer camper and eventually a counselor at Camp Winnemont, in Ossipee, N.H.. She went on to attend Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., and graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1947.
Following a long childhood friendship and courtship with Paul, they married in 1948 and settled in Boston. She worked for several years at MIT Labs as a chemist on a soil solidification process that would become instrumental in creating temporary runways for aircraft.
In 1950 Connie and Paul settled in Needham, where they raised a family. Connie became active in Christ Episcopal Church and as a volunteer in the Needham Public Schools and the numerous activities of her two sons. During this period she and Paul developed a love of family skiing and boating. They joined the White Mountain Ski Runners club in Intervale, N.H., and owned a succession of sailboats for cruising the coastal waters. They sailed each summer on Casco Bay and Penobscot Bay and took the journey of a lifetime down the intracoastal waterway to Key West.
In 1981, in preparation for retirement, Connie and Paul built a home in Harvard that became the focal point of their activities and family gatherings. She was a member of the Harvard Woman’s Club, Garden Club of Harvard, Harvard Conservation Trust, and a volunteer at Harvard Help. Paul and she were hosts to frequent Rotary Club social events and developed a large circle of friends. They joined the Camden Yacht Club in Maine, which, along with their boat “Nepenthe,” was their home away from home. Connie became known for the same display of hospitality on their boat as she had at home. Always at ease with spontaneity, Connie hosted impromptu gatherings throughout her marriage and opened her home to friends and Paul’s business associates with warmth and style. She will be similarly remembered by multiple generations at their ski club for her hospitality and intergenerational interest in people.
A memorial service and celebration of life was held at the Harvard Congregational Church on March 24.
