Susan H. Festa

CHESHIRE- Susan H. Festa, 73, passed away Saturday, July 1, 2023 at Royal of Westerly Nursing Center in Westerly, RI. She was the wife of Eugene N. Festa. Mrs. Festa was born June 16,1950, in New Haven, daughter of the late Leonard and Patricia (Brady) Hunter. She was a retired award-winning floral designer who worked at several local florists, including The Window Box, The Pink Petunia, and Lucian's.

Susan attended Lauralton Hall (now The Academy of Our Lady of Mercy) in Milford, CT, and Newton College of the Sacred Heart (now part of Boston College) in Newton, MA. She was widely admired for her artistry and creativity and was a member of the Connecticut Florists Association (CFA). During that time, she won many design competitions across the Northeast and was very proud to win the title of CFA's Floral Designer of the Year in 2014, culminating at a nation-wide convention in Columbus, OH. Year after year, she often placed in the Cheshire Garden Club's holiday door decorating competition. She loved being surrounded by friends and family, she delighted in all things flower-related, and she lived for the most wonderful summers on the Connecticut shoreline with her closest friends and family in a rented cottage for the month of July.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Festa is survived by her son, Nicholas Festa of Cheshire, her daughters, and their spouses: Alison Koons (Michael Lavelle) of Wallingford, Jessica Valente (Michael Valente) of Sturbridge, MA, and Katherine Giampietro (Brian Giampietro) of Cheshire, her brother, David Hunter of New York, and her sister, Lauren Grestini (Edward Grestini) of Wallingford. She will also be greatly missed by her grandchildren: Noah, Miles, Stella, Charlotte, Nora, Allston, and Phoebe.

Arrangements: Friends may greet her family at the Alderson-Ford Funeral Home of Cheshire, 615 South Main Street, on Thursday evening, July 6, 2023, from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. Her funeral procession will depart the funeral home on Friday morning, July 7, 2023, at 9:30 A.M., and proceed to St. Bridget of Sweden Parish – St. Bridget Church for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 A.M. Burial will follow in Cheshire Hillside Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions, in her name, may be made to Alzheimer's Association.