Nina (von Moltke) Kaletsch

WEST CORNWALL — Nina (von Moltke) Kaletsch, 75, of West Cornwall died Nov. 15, 2018, peacefully at her home surrounded by her family. She was the loving wife of the late Otto A. Kaletsch and loving mother to her three sons.

Mrs. Kaletsch was born Oct. 4, 1943, in Berlin, Germany, the daughter of the late Marina (née Princess Kazbek) and Helmuth von Moltke, and older sister to Tino Langfeld. 

Mrs. Kaletsch graduated from Pleasantville High School in New York and then attended Manhattanville College. She worked in the art department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She met her first husband, the late Walter R. Shepard, by chance in 1962 on Fire Island, N.Y. 

She considered being a mother her proudest accomplishment.

She was widowed in 1975 and raised her three sons as a single mother in Bedford, N.Y. 

She was  remarried to Otto Kaletsch in 1991 and they lived in West Cornwall and New York City for 24 years, until his death in 2015. 

Mrs. Kaletsch had a gift of language and spoke German, Italian, French and Russian. She wrote poetry, traveled the world extensively and was an avid gardener. She studied philosophy, Greek and Roman mythology, English and German literature. Her favorite activities included Broadway musicals and Jeopardy, and she was a lifelong member of the Metropolitan Opera Club, although she was never a big fan of Wagner’s Ring. She was on the board of many organizations including the Quadrille Ball in New York City and served on the board as a trustee to Franklin University in Lugano, Switzerland, since 2007.

She is survived by three sons, Christopher of Watertown, Mass., Lawrence and his wife, Holley, of Portland, Ore., and James and his wife, Idella, of Cornwall Bridge; her step-daughter, Valerie Cortalano of Garrison, N.Y.; and six grandchildren, Marina, Sage, Oscar, Wolfgang, Tessa and Maxwell. 

She was predeceased by her younger brother, Konstantin “Tino” Langfeld. She also leaves behind many close friends and family across the world.

A memorial service will be held at her home in West Cornwall on Friday, Nov. 23, at 1 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the Salisbury Visiting Nurse Assn. in lieu of flowers. 

The Kenny Funeral Home has taken care of arrangements.

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