Obituary: Stavroula Demitre, Teacher, Piano Instructor

The following is from Weir-MacCuish Golden Rule Funeral Home.

Stavroula (Balomenos) Demitre, a longtime resident of Malden, passed away on Sunday, July 27, in the Continuing Care Center at Brooksby Village.

Starr was born and raised in Portland, Maine, graduating from Portland High School. After high school, she was enrolled at Brown University where she majored in music, graduating with the Class of 1953. She received her master’s degree at the Harvard School of Education.

She met her sweetheart Theodore Demitre at church while he was visiting Maine, and the two were married in Portland in August of 1956. They first moved to New Jersey, then Montreal, Canada, before finally settling down in Malden. They shared 54 years together until Theodore’s passing in 2007.

Starr worked as a teacher for much of her life. She taught in New Jersey, was a music teacher in Montreal and finally taught remedial reading and special education for the Malden Public School System until 1992 when she retired at the age of 60.

Starr taught piano until this spring, with her final student going off to college this fall. She maintained special relationships with her piano students up until her death. Starr played piano for local churches including the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church of Malden. She performed with choirs, including the Polymnia Choral Society of Melrose and more recently the Brooksby Singers in Peabody. She was Choir Director of the Polyettes and the Starrlighters.

In addition, Starr enjoyed summering on Peaks Island, Maine, where she was a founding mother of the Peaks Island Music Association. Starr cherished her yearly visits to the Trapp Family Lodge with dear friends Anne and Bernie Zablocki.

She is survived by her daughter Matina “Tina” Lang of Chestnut Hill, her son-in-law Norman Lang, her daughter Dorothea Demitre of Freeport, Maine, her son-in-law Howard Kessler, her brother Rev. Charles Balomenos of Sioux City, Iowa, her grandsons Maxwell and Austin Lang, her very dear friends Anne and Bernie Zablocki and her sweet puppy Andre. Stavroula was preceded in death by her husband Theodore and her sister Mary Balomenos.

Funeral services for Starr will be held on Thursday, July 31, at the Weir-MacCuish Golden Rule Funeral Home, 144 Salem St, Malden, at 10 a.m. Interment will follow in Forestdale Cemetery, Malden. Visitation for Starr will be held at the funeral home on Wednesday, July 30, from 4-8 p.m.

Donations in her memory may be made to the Scholar’s Fund, 200 Brooksby Village Drive, Peabody, MA 01960, or to Project Hope, www.prohope.org, 550 Dudley St., Roxbury, MA 02119.