Concordia Gregorieff

GREGORIEFF, Concordia Concordia A. Gregorieff, 103, died on Wednesday, (June 27, 2007) at the Seabury Life Community where she had lived for the previous two years. Concordia was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1903, the daughter of Concordia Vechesloff Gregorieff and General Alexander Paul Gregorieff. He had served under both Tsar Alexander III and Tsar Nicholas II, fought in both the Russo-Japanese War and World War I, and was a personal friend of many members of the royal family. During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Concordia and her family were forced into hiding while her father joined the White Army. Eventually they escaped to Constantinople where for three years Concordia studied at the American College for Girls. Fluent in Russian, German, French and English, she was prepared for a new life in America. Her family landed on Ellis Island in 1923 and eventually settled in West Hartford where Concordia lived for the next 80 years. She became a U.S. citizen in 1928, was proud that she voted in every election yet always held a deep love for the Russia of her youth and the splendor she knew there. Her story is documented in the biography Broken Beads by Polly Zarella. For close to 40 years, Concordia worked for the State of Connecticut, first in the Motor Vehicle Dept., then as Executive Assistant to the Legislative Commissioners, and finally as the personal assistant to Wilbur Cross. Concordia was devoted to her family and many close friends, a faithful member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Hartford where she sang in the choir, volunteered in the soup kitchen, and spent countless hours sewing the church banners She was a member of the Saturday Morning Club, the Town and County Club, Hartford Camerata Conservatory, the Civil War Round Table, the Connecticut Historical Society and was a member of the Mark Twain House. Her kindness, wit, and sense of adventure will be missed by many. Besides her parents, Concordia was predeceased by her brothers Alexander, George, and Igor, and her sister Tamara. Her cousin, Igor Vechesloff is one of the only surviving relatives including her sister-in-law, Weda Gregorieff of South Carolina, but Concordia had a family of friends until the end of her life and she will be missed by them all. Special thanks and gratitude to the caring and loving staff at Davis Center, Seabury, who took Concordia to their hearts. Friends may call at Trinity Episcopal Church, 120 Sigourney St., Hartford on Monday July 2, from 9-10 a.m. followed by funeral services in the church at 10 a.m. A reception will immediately follow the service in Goodwin Hall at the church. A graveside service will be held Monday at 2 p.m. in Fairview Cemetery, West Hartford. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Concordia's memory to the Bishop's Fund for Children, c/o The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, 1335 Asylum Ave., Hartford, CT 06105 or to the Connecticut Historical Society, 1 Elizabeth St., Hartford, CT 06105. Arrangements are being handled by The Ahern Funeral Homes, Inc.