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Frederick Wright Hosterman
Apr 30, 2025
KENT — Frederick Wright Hosterman passed away peacefully in his home in Kent on April 16, 2025. Born in 1929 in Auburn, Nebraska, he was the son of farmers. He attended a one-room schoolhouse just outside of Brownville, Nebraska, adjacent to his family’s farm. The little brick schoolhouse is still standing! After graduating from high school, Fred attended the University of Nebraska (Lincoln), eventually earning a master’s degree in agronomy. He took a job with Monsanto in Buffalo, New York, where the company was a pioneer in applying biotechnology to agricultural sciences. In Buffalo, Fred met his future wife, Dorothy. Fred and Dorothy moved to New York City for several years in the early 1960s, before settling down in Norwalk. In Norwalk, Fred and Dorothy had three children. The family later moved to Kent. In 1980, Fred and Dorothy divorced, and Fred bought a large tract of land on Carter Road in Kent. He built a house there, largely by himself, which he maintained until his death at age 95. After taking early retirement, he spent the following decades working on his property, adding various buildings, woodcrafting, landscaping, and spending time with his children and grandchildren.
Fred had a jovial and close relationship with many of his neighbors, who he saw daily, all willing to share a cup of coffee or receive various bits of wisdom from Fred on any number of projects.
Fred was predeceased by his parents; Helen and Arch Hosterman, step-mother Cassie Hosterman, sisters Ruth and Esther Marie, brother Richard, and former wife Dorothy. He is survived by his three children and their spouses; John and his husband Eric of Northfield, Minnesota, Tracy and her partner, Sam, of Amenia, New York, and Catherine and her husband, Josh, of Cornwall. He is also survived by his five grandchildren; Nicky, Dan, Ian, Zachary, and Eliza, and several nieces and nephews.
Fred loved to flirt with the ladies, even in his 90s, doing a little “dance” for almost anyone he met. Another of Fred’s favorite hobbies was chopping down trees on his land. Initially, this started out as a necessity for fueling his wood stoves. Later, tree-clearing projects were aimed at enhancing the magnificent view from his house high atop Carter Road. Even at age 95, Fred was frequently on his excavator moving boulders or building a retaining wall, as he was strong, healthy and witty until his final weeks.
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Eleanor Anne Sternlof
Apr 30, 2025
LIME ROCK — Eleanor Anne Sternlof (née de Guise) of White Hollow Road, passed away on April 25, 2025 at Geer Village in Canaan. She was 94 and the loving wife of the late Paul William Sternlof, who died on Aug. 12, 2005.
Eleanor was born July 14, 1930, in Lowell, Massachusetts as the eldest child of the late George and Vera (née Gale) de Guise. Eleanor graduated from Chelmsford High School in 1948 and from Clark University in 1954. She met Paul as a fellow student at Clark and they married in May 1954.
Eleanor worked for Mohawk Airlines while Paul earned his MBA in Hospital Administration at Yale University. In 1958 they moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and started a family while Paul worked as Assistant Administrator at Baltimore General Hospital.
Their first two children, Karl and Kurt, were born in Baltimore. They moved to Sharon in 1962 when Paul became President of Sharon Hospital. Two more children followed, and the family settled on White Hollow Road in 1965.
Eleanor and Paul were together avid beekeepers, vegetable gardeners, brewers of mead and motorcycle enthusiasts. She was a skilled seamstress, doll maker, canner and general DIYer who learned carpentry taking adult-ed classes at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. In 1977, while her two middle boys were students there, Eleanor took a job in the Superintendent’s Office and quickly became notorious for riding her motorcycle to work. She retired in 1992.
In 1995, Eleanor and Paul bought a winter home on Fripp Island, South Carolina, and made many new friends. She volunteered for years there as a teaching aide at the public school and sang alto in the island choir. After Paul passed, she spent a decade plus traveling the world with a close-knit band of fellow adventurers. Eleanor moved back to White Hollow full-time in June 2020 and finally to Geer Village in Oct. 2021.
Eleanor is survived by her children; Karl Sternlof (Kerin Woods) of New London, Connecticut, Kurt Sternlof of Newton, Massachusetts, Mark Sternlof of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Erika Sternlof of Bath, Maine; her grandchildren, Emma Sternlof (Michael Conlin) of Durham, North Carolina, Nora Sternlof of Chicago, Illinois and Erik Sternlof of Newton, Massachusetts; her great grandchild Brian Conlin and her sister Evelyn Webber of Rochester, New York.
Memorial activities will be announced at a later date. The Kenny Funeral Home has care of all arrangements.
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