Constance Kelly Fletcher, of Summit, New Jersey, died on April 21, 2020, after suffering a stroke.

Connie was born on Oct. 5, 1935, in Wilmington, Delaware, to Charles and Josephine Kelly.

After graduating as the valedictorian of Mount Pleasant High School in 1953, Connie entered Cornell University where she studied English (graduating with Honors) and was president of the Delta Gamma Chi chapter. Connie’s DG sisters became her friends for life.

At Cornell, Connie met Charlie Fletcher and their first date in 1953 marked the beginning of a 67-year love affair with each other, with learning and the arts, and with adventure. Connie and Charlie married in 1958 and their family quickly grew – Susan was born in 1958, Betsy in 1960, Andy in 1964, and Benjamin in 1969.

In 1973, the family moved to Wales, and from the start, Connie ensured that at every opportunity, the family experienced the best that Britain and Europe had to offer, organizing trips to London to see shows in the West End, to the chateaus of France, and to Rome and Florence. When Charlie’s sister, Sue, and her husband, Perry Bradley (both Cornell grads), moved their family to Germany in 1974, the two families traveled together in Germany, Wales, and to Switzerland for a storybook Christmas skiing vacation.

In 1977, the family moved to Australia and Connie continued to organize family adventures, starting with another Cornell reunion, this time in Hawaii on Sally and Freddy Rice’s ranch. From that start, Connie organized her family’s exploration of Australia and Asia. In Geelong, Connie played club tennis, was active at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club, and began again to study piano.

Back in Pittsburgh by 1982, Connie continued to study piano and play competitive tennis. She was active in the Tuesday Music Club and began teaching piano. When the couple later moved to New Jersey, Connie expanded her teaching with a busy schedule of students through the fall of 2019. Connie and Charlie spent many weekends in New York attending off-Broadway plays, the symphony, and operas at the Met.Connie loved Maine, and after Charlie retired, the couple spent summers in Bayville and aboard Constance, which they sailed Downeast every August. In Maine, Connie introduced her 10 grandchildren to the joys of exploration and adventure – in Linekin Bay tidal pools and on picnic trips to Damariscove Island – retaining the love of nature and exploration she first discovered as a Girl Scout summer camp counselor.

Connie was an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chatham, New Jersey, and supported numerous charities including the Association to Benefit Children, New Jersey All Stars Project, New Jersey Interfaith Council for the Homeless, and Interweave.

She is survived by Charlie Fletcher, her devoted husband of 62 years; her children, Susan Fletcher Baldwin, of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Betsy Fletcher Lintel of Dallas, Texas, Andy Fletcher, of Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, and Benjamin Fletcher, of Denver, Colorado; her 10 grandchildren; and her siblings, Josephine and John.

Private funeral arrangements are under the direction of Paul Ippolito Summit Memorial. To send condolences please visit www.ippolitofuneralhomes.com

Memorial contributions in Connie’s memory may be made to Association to Benefit Children at https://www.a-b-c.org/