Constance "Connie" Mary Marlowe

Connie was born at Tampa’s Centro Asturiano Hospital in 1945, the daughter and granddaughter of Sicilian immigrants who arrived in the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century.

She was raised in both Tampa and Miami, visiting her grandparents in West Tampa during the summers before moving to Tampa and attending Plant High School, graduating in 1963.

She married Frank Leto, also of West Tampa, in 1963, raising three children.

Connie spent her early career as a legal secretary and paralegal, beginning as a runner for Carlton Fields, before joining the Jim Walter Corporation and, later, Moffitt, Hart and Miller.

She enrolled at the University of South Florida later in life, graduating with honors, becoming the first in her family to earn a 4-year degree.

She began a career in public relations that led her to MacDill Federal Credit Union before launching the law firm of Marlowe, McNabb, Machnick with her husband, Steve, whom she married in 1982.

She served as the president of the Association of Legal Administrators, Suncoast Chapter from 1998-2006, and was president of the Beach Park Homeowners Association in the mid-1990s.

Connie was the center of a blended family of five children, managing school pick-ups and drop-offs, Halloween costume creation, emergency room visits, boy scout camping trip menu planning, and study halls, all while convening the family around the dinner table with a home-cooked meal nearly every night of the week.

Connie carried forward the culinary traditions of her Sicilian family; her recipes rivaled any Italian restaurant, and hers was perhaps the only family that served both turkey and lasagna on Thanksgiving.

She spoke three languages, and her creative pursuits ranged from painting and playing the piano to sewing. An avid dancer, she and Steve were active members of Libreros Dance Studio where they tangoed and cha-cha-ed with their friends every Friday night for more than 20 years.

Connie is survived by her husband, Steve; her brother, Manny Maracini, and his wife, Mickey; five children, Teri Josephson, Victor Leto, Manny Leto and his partner Jennifer Evanchyk, Meredith Jankowski and her husband Ed, and David Marlowe and his wife Caren; and seven grandchildren, Lily Luke, Caroline Marlowe, Josie Josephson, Marlowe and Margaret Jankowski, and Asher and Morissey Montgomery.

A memorial service will be held Saturday from 1 to 2 p.m. at Blount and Curry Life Event Center, 605 MacDill Ave., Tampa. A reception at the family's residence will follow.