Eloise Marcella Cecchinato Koneazny, 93, of New Marlborough, Mass. and Picayune, Miss. entered eternal rest on July 2, 2024 at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington, Mass.
after a brief illness. Born in Torrington, Conn. on July 30, 1930 to immigrant parents Nichola and Margherita Cecchinato, Eloise grew up in a close-knit Italian family that was not only dedicated to hard work but to assimilating into the American way of life.
Yet she and her family never lost their values as Italian-Americans and honored such timeworn traditions as hosting gnocchi parties featuring accordion playing and dancing. Eloise was also a bit of a non-conformist. When in grade school, she refused to get off the “big kids” bus because her older brothers were on it, and she didn’t want to walk three miles in the cold.
Her first sit-in. This was perhaps a precursor to her participation in the pro-life rescue movement in the late 1980’s where she joined countless others in blocking abortion clinics with her husband and four children. During her high school years, Eloise was active in the local softball team, archery and bowling league.
After graduating from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in 1948, Eloise’s secretarial skills were so exceptional that she was recommended by her teacher for the position of secretary to the President of Canaan National Bank and had the distinction of being the first Italian-American to be employed there. She met her future husband, William C. Koneazny, at a.
