Obituary of Loretta P. Sambides

Loretta Lovine Postupack Sambides passed quietly into the arms of Our Lord while in her sleep at the Shelton Lakes Health Care Center on April 9. She was 85. Loretta died of complications from COVID-19, chronic pulmonary obstructive disease and many other ailments. The Sambides, Severino, and Postupack families therefore join all the others who have had to mourn the pandemic’s casualties individually, alone. A sad irony accompanies the death of a woman so generous: She of all people would loathe the idea that the last possession she could give to others was a deadly virus. But the deeper truth is that her flaws were microbial, like the virus, and submerged within an ocean of better qualities. She was polite and amiable but loved to reduce co-workers to spasms of helpless laughter. She graduated from McAdoo HS in her home state of Pennsylvania and worked as an administrative assistant at Sikorsky Aircraft. She also worked as a server and hostess at a half dozen New Haven-area restaurants. An excellent listener, Loretta probably best served the world as a mother, grandmother and good neighbor on Ansonia’s Glen Ridge Drive, where she was known for welcoming friends to the family table and swimming pool. Loretta, literally a coal-miner’s daughter born to the late Andrew and Julia Kerrick Postupack on Sept. 23, 1934 in McAdoo, Pennsylvania. A member of a family that today has more than 500 members, she was the second eldest of four children: Irene Postupack Reshetar, of West Haven; Andrew Postupack, of Hazelton; and the late Leonard Postupack, of Miami, Florida. While she worked at Sikorsky Aircraft, Loretta met and fell in love with the late Nicholas John Sambides of New Haven. Married on May 19, 1962, they lived in Nichols and Bridgeport before moving to Ansonia in 1967, where they spent the rest of their lives. Their marriage produced two children, Tara Alexandra Sambides Severino, and Nicholas John Sambides Jr. When Tara married Robert Severino of East Haven, Loretta became a joyous grandmother – of Alexis Nichole, Tyler Rose, twins Cori and Riley and Robert Severino. After the death of her husband in 2015, and during her long illness, it was with great honor that her sister Irene, her daughter Tara, and son Nicholas were able to provide the care, support and love to this special lady. In lieu of a memorial service, the family asks that donations be made to Griffin Hospital, COVID-19 Relief Fund, Attn: Janet Hall, In memory of Loretta Sambides, 130 Division Street, Derby, CT, 06418-1326. The Wakelee Memorial Funeral Home, 167 Wakelee Avenue, Ansonia is in care of arrangements. Online condolences may be made at www.wakeleememorial.com.