Class of 1977
My aunt, Arlene Bonadio Straka, Class of 1948, passed away in November 24, 2023. She was born on January 2, 1927, 15 minutes older than her twin sister Margaret.
At Sage she studied Retail Merchandising and she was a big fan of bridge. We know also that she attended frat parties and skipped some white glove dinners. After graduation she worked as a retail buyer in department stores in Philadelphia and Springfield, MA. She especially loved traveling to New York City on buying trips. She married Joseph Straka in 1962, and later was divorced.
Raised in Watertown, NY with severe winters, she claimed that as soon as she realized she could live somewhere warm, she moved to Phoenix, Arizona. She believed eating right and exercising was the key to a healthy life and practiced yoga well into her 80’s. She loved to travel and had seen the world traveling to all seven continents.
In her retirement, she ran the county library’s online auction of books and volunteered at the Salvation Army Angel Tree at Christmas for years. Arlene is survived by 2 sons, Frank of Phoenix, AZ and Frederick of Wilmington, DE, and five grandchildren: Frank, Anna, Adam, Rebekah, and David,a great-granddaughter Madeline. We miss her wry observations and warm humor to this day.