Connie Zara

In the early morning hours of September 17, 2024, Connie Zara passed away peacefully after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease and other health complications. Connie was being visited and comforted by family members and friends at Stoddard Baptist Nursing Home in Washington, DC. She was 76 years old.

Connie was born in eastern Maryland on September 11, 1948. She was the second child, and the second daughter, of Kenneth and Shirley. She lost her mother at the age of 3, and her father was remarried to Nancy. Kenneth and Nancy would go on to have two daughters together.

Connie spent her childhood in a small quiet neighborhood where she attended all twelve years of school and graduated from High School in 1967. Growing up along a river in the country, she loved the outdoors and the simple things in life. She would frequently spend time in her rowboat and deeply loved her family. She was a cherished daughter and “the best big sister ever” as described by her two younger siblings.

After graduating from high school, she moved to Washington, DC where she attended a one-year career college. Washington DC became her permanent home, and she worked in various positions before meeting her former husband Denio in 1969. Connie and Denio would go on to be married in 1972, sharing 26 years together and having 2 sons, Francesco, and Marco. Connie spent a lot of time as a loving, dedicated, and nurturing stay-at-home mother and would eventually start working again in the administrative field. She would finish her career as an administrative assistant at Iona Senior Services, a non-profit organization providing care and support for older adults and caregivers as well as providing virtual and in-person programs for seniors. Connie worked at Iona for 23 years, during which time she would be diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. After her retirement, and as her Parkinson’s progressed, she would eventually become a participant in their Wellness and Arts program.

Connie was an extremely loving, genuine, hospitable, and giving person. She enjoyed the simple things in life, loved the country, loved animals, loved the holidays, loved to laugh, and was very talented and creative. She loved arts and crafts, drawing, music, singing, she was a self-taught guitar player, and she thoroughly enjoyed cooking for people. She had a green thumb, loved gardening, and would even decorate her colleagues’ desks with flower arrangements, and they would look to her to keep their plants thriving.

Connie was kind and gentle to everyone she interacted with. She deeply loved and cared for her entire family as well as her friends and was not only “the best big sister ever” as lovingly noted by her younger sisters but was also the greatest mother that one could ever ask for. She loved and was loved by so many.

In the final years of her life, Connie spent many Sundays at Restoration Church alongside her son Marco. During this time, Connie came to fully understand and embrace Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She is now in the loving embrace of her Good Shepherd, where she finds eternal peace and joy, leaving behind a legacy of faith and love that will continue to inspire her family and friends. There is so much more that can be said about the beautiful person that she was. She will be sorely missed.

Connie is lovingly remembered and survived by her former husband Denio; her two sons, Francesco, and Marco; her grandson, Dylan; her sisters, Karen, Susan, and Sally; and numerous other family members and friends.

A celebration of Connie’s life is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., Thursday September 26, 2024, at Restoration Church (3850 Nebraska Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016) with a reception afterward at the same location.