GREENFIELD – Rosalie Constance Corsiglia, known to family and friends as “Connie,” died on August 3, 2017 at Charlene Manor in Greenfield. Connie was born on July 1, 1926, in Greenfield, to Rosalie Stoddard Johnson and Alfred E. Johnson, of Hyde Park (Boston) and Dedham, MA, respectively.

Connie was educated at The Bement School in Deerfield, Stoneleigh-Prospect Hill School (class of 1945) in Greenfield and Ogontz Junior College in Rydal, PA (class of 1947) She was accepted to Smith College as an Ada Comstock Scholar, but did not attend. In her youth, Connie was an avid skier and golfer and taught sailing at a summer camp on Cape Cod.

After graduating from Ogontz, Connie returned to Greenfield, where she worked for the Greenfield Recorder Gazette.  In 1952, she married George Frederic Corsiglia, who died in 2001.

From 1952-1955, the couple lived in Newport, RI, New York City and the Panama Canal Zone as part of a U.S. Naval tour of duty, before returning to Greenfield where they raised five children. As a full-time stay at home mother, Connie was active as a volunteer in the Junior Branch, Board of Organized Work of the Franklin County Public Hospital and enjoyed her involvement in their annual “Follies” variety show fund raiser.

Eventually, with her last child in elementary school, Connie found herself drawn into the retail world, initially as a sales assistant at the Mary Ellen Dress Shop and later with her own women’s clothing boutique, Cobblestones Ltd.  But the educational world beckoned and she migrated from retail into the a long career in independent school admissions, serving as Director of Admissions of the Stoneleigh-Burnham School in Greenfield and subsequently in the same capacity for The Tuxedo School in Tuxedo Park, NY, and Linden Hall in Lititz, PA.

Connie retired initially to Martha’s Vineyard and later returned to Greenfield permanently and re-immersed herself in volunteer work and new passions. A lifelong learner, in retirement, she returned to her college roots in studio art and took up oil painting at age 75, driving herself to attend weekly adult classes at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and numerous art workshops and artist retreats.  Her many still-life and landscape paintings now adorn the walls of her children’s homes. For many of the past 20 years, she was active as a member of the Deerfield Valley Arts Association, where she also served on the board.  In addition, she served on the board of the Friends of the Greenfield Public Library and actively engaged in their annual fund raising events.

Connie is survived by four children, Catherine Offenberg of Newton, Nancy Corsiglia of Washington, D.C., Constance Corsiglia of Oak Bluffs, MA and George Victor Corsiglia, of Malden, MA; two grandsons: Benjamin Offenberg of Venice, CA and Nicholas Offenberg of Williamsburg, NY; a sister: Priscilla Sorrells of Phoenix, AZ; 9 nieces and nephews and several grand-nieces and grand-nephews. Her daughter Sarah Corsiglia died in 1983.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 12^th at 3:30pm at Saint James Episcopal Church on Federal Street in Greenfield, followed by burial at the Green River Cemetery and a reception.  Additional information may be obtained through the Kostanski Funeral Home in Greenfield. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Baystate Franklin Medical Center 164 High St., Greenfield, MA  01301.

Sympathy message available at www.kostanskifuneralhome.com

 Service Information