Steffi Fletcher Obituary

Steffi Loewenstein Fletcher, 96, of Stockbridge MA. December 21, 1927 - September 28, 2024.

She mostly played

the neutral scene,

Not very good,

not very mean,

Was an okay mother/wife,

Had a very lucky life.

Now she's dead.

'Nuff said.

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Steffi hoped the obituary above, which she wrote during recent weeks, would suffice. But we cannot resist adding context.

Her life, which she considered one of good fortune, was informed by her childhood in the close-knit pre-WWII Jewish community of Osnabruck, Germany. Her teenage years were in Binghamton NY, and she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Smith College, majoring in Philosophy. She authored children's books and for many years taught English at Berkshire Country Day School and Miss Hall's. She loved her Stockbridge Bowl home, built by adored husband Robert. She also loved literature, Tanglewood, tennis, and swimming. She inspired us with her warmth, curiosity, capacity for growth, and irreverence. She cherished every visit with her extended family and her many friends. In her nineties, she still began each morning with an hour of floor exercises. Her greatest fear was that the improbable King Kone in Pittsfield would close.

After a brief cardiac illness, Steffi died serenely at Fairview Hospital, where loving and excellent care brightened her last days. Several hours before the final moment, she was exclaiming about the joys of the Fairview omelette station. (All those choices - what a delight!). The list of her heroes and confidants is long, but we particularly thank her advisors in poetry matters, who visited, phoned, and emailed devotedly in recent years. Her appreciation of your wisdom and encouragement was immense.

A memorial will be held in April/May 2025. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lenox Library Association, 18 Main Street, Lenox, MA 01240.