Constance de Ropp

Constance Staudt de Ropp passed away on December 18th. Constance, known as "Connie," was born in Reading, PA on November 15, 1944. She was a descendant of the Staudt and Hain families who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700s. Connie graduated from The Madeira School and Briarcliff College, then attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. After college she worked in sales at Tiffany & Co., NYC, where she reunited with and then married, her husband of 51 years, Harald “Skip” de Ropp, whom she had known from her childhood summers in Oyster Harbors, Osterville, MA.

Connie was an avid reader and enjoyed playing bridge, the theatre, antiques, museum exhibitions, lectures on foreign affairs and discussing current events. She devoted many years of unbounded energy to making a difference through volunteer work for various non-profit, schools, and social organizations in NYC and beyond. These included the New York Junior League, St. Bernard’s School, The Nightingale-Bamford School, The Parents League, the Knickerbocker Dancing School, the New York Infirmary Debutante Ball Committee, The Junior Assembly, the Midwinter Dance Committee, Asia Society, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and The Decorative Arts Trust.

She was an active, longstanding member of many social clubs including: The Beach Club (Centerville, MA); Chilton Club (Boston); Doubles Club (NYC); The Mill Reef Club (Antigua); Oyster Harbors Club (MA); Quogue Field Club; Quogue Beach Club; Shinecock Yacht Club; Thursday Evening Club (NYC); The Vincent Club (Boston); Wianno Club; Wianno Yacht Club; The Yale Club of New York; as well as, her beloved Colony Club where she was a Life Member.

She was a member of the Colony Club for more than 50 years, chairing and serving on many committees such as the Younger Members Committee, Literature and Arts Committee and the Flower committee. Connie also served and chaired with special distinction on the Archives Committee. In particular, she took on a multi-year project to pour over volumes of archival documents – contained both within the walls of the Colony Club and external sources around the world – and then compiled the information in a new, more modern format and database for members to access. But she didn’t take this project on alone. Where Connie went, Skip was not far behind, and they shared a passion and dedication for this project as they had with so many others over the years.

Connie was predeceased by her devoted husband, Harald “Skip” de Ropp. She was the loving mother of Harald "Duke" de Ropp Jr. (Chikako) and Eleanor Flatow (Brian) and grandmother of Jeffrey de Ropp and Claire, Grace and Bridget Flatow. A memorial service will be held at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church (869 Lexington Ave.) on Tuesday, January 3rd at 10:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in memory of Constance de Ropp to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Office of Development at P.O. Box 27106, New York, NY 10087.