Cornelia (Frohman) Santomenna

FREEPORT – Cornelia Frohman Santomenna of South Freeport passed away on Feb. 27, 2025, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Connie began her long and rich life in New York City, N.Y. on March 31, 1934, born to Avis Todd and Louis H. Frohman. Her father was a colonel in the U.S. Army and while he served in WWII, Connie and her mother spent several years living in Rowley, Mass. with her Todd relatives.

After the war, while her father was assigned to a NATO post in France, Connie attended Prealpina, a boarding school in Switzerland and then graduated from the National Cathedral School in Washington, DC. She attended Middlebury College, where she met her future husband. She graduated in 1956 with a major in French and then returned to Prealpina to teach English. Connie and Bob were married in 1958.

After living in Colorado Springs, Colo.; New York City, N.Y.; Boston, and Cambridge, Mass., Connie and Bob settled in Carlisle, Mass. where they raised their sons David and Paul. Connie was involved with local social justice initiatives, advocated for affordable housing, taught and tutored French, and stayed closely connected with her many friends from her elementary, high school, college, and post-collegiate circles. Connie was also close with her extended family, and as an accomplished genealogist delved into its varied roots. She amassed an impressive database tracking family generations back to the emperor Charlemagne and was a volunteer genealogist for the New England Historical Genealogical Society and the registrar of the Maine chapter of the Colonial Dames. Genealogy was her passion. In her terms, she loved “the thrill of the chase”.

Connie valued and upheld exacting standards of etiquette and propriety while also remaining warm and generous with everyone she encountered. Even after Alzheimer’s had taken its toll, her kindness and graciousness remained. Connie was quietly steadfast in her beliefs, from treating all people with humanity down to insisting that ham salad sandwiches must be buttered.

After relocating to South Freeport in the early 1990s, Connie dove into Maine life with vigor, renovating a circa 1830 house in South Freeport, continuing to frequent the extended Todd family retreat on Stearns Pond in Sweden, and cruising the coast in the family sailboat. Connie also enjoyed extensive international travel with Bob, visiting many countries in Europe as well as New Zealand, Australia and Costa Rica.

Over time she welcomed her son’s spouses and children into the family, always making sure they felt comfortable and valued as part of the family. “Grammy” was a proud and loving grandmother, and she will be deeply missed by Lily, Rafi, Sage, and Peter.

Connie is survived by her husband, Robert; her son, David and his wife Ana Crespo, and their children Lily and Rafi; and her son Paul, and his children Sage and Peter.

Connie’s funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 8 at 1 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 27 Pleasant St., Brunswick. Burial will be in Central Burial Ground in Rowley, Mass. on Friday, March 14, at 11 a.m.

Arrangements and guidance are in the care of Stetson’s Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 12 Federal St., Brunswick.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Stetson’s Funeral Home website, http://www.stetsonsfuneralhome.com

In lieu of flowers, donations in Connie’s name may be made to the

Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association

383 Route One, Suite 2 C

Scarborough, ME 04074