Constantine Prapopulos of Westport died March 30 at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He was 81.

The husband of Sharon Lynn Carter Prapopulos was born in Greece on Feb. 21, 1937 and was a son to the late Elenie Angelopoulou and Alexis Prapopoulos. He graduated from Exeter College of Oxford University and was the president of an international shipping company based in New York as well as Piraeus, Greece.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons and their wives, Tarquin A. Prapopulos and Martha, of New Jersey; Phil A. Prapopulos and Alexis of Fairfield; a daughter, Melanie Ann Prapopoulos of Miami; five grandchildren, Michael, Victoria, Evander, Marcel and Guinevere.

He had a zest for life, a love of sports, a good meal and Bossa Nova, and loved sharing his joys with so many people. He was a legend in the shipping industry, and will be sorely missed by all who had the pleasure to meet him and/or work together.  All services will be private and at the convenience of the family.

Deborah Rose “Posie” Allen of Westport died March 23 at Norwalk Hospital. She was 63.

A lifelong resident of Westport, she was born Sept. 14, 1954 in Bronxville, New York to Craig and Barbara Allen.

She graduated Staples High School in 1973 and went on to earn an associate’s degree in early childhood education from Norwalk Community College.
 
She worked as an early childhood teacher, a switchboard operator for the Westport Town School Office, and a camp counselor at Westport Beach School for many years.  She also volunteered with Hospice Care.

Herbert Bloom, a Westport resident since 2005, died March 21 at Norwalk Hospital of an apparent heart attack. He was 87.

Herb Bloom: loved “the Latin.” Contributed photo

He was born in 1930 in Roxbury, Massachusetts to Rose and Albert Bloom. He was educated at the Boston Latin School, where he loved “the Latin,” and went on to graduate from Brandeis University and earn a master’s in library science from Simmons College, and a master of arts from Harvard University.

His career led him to become a senior editor with the American Library Association in Chicago.

He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict. He was an avid horticulturist, and loved classical music. He was a member of the Y’s Men of Westport/Weston since 2005.

Gloria Rose Improta of Stamford, one-time owner of the Dairy Queen in Westport, died March 25 at Stamford Hospital. She was 88.

She was best known in recent years for working at Mama Carmela’s Deli in Darien, where customers knew her by name and enjoyed her genuine smile and the care she took in catering to them.

Her hospitality was her passion as customers, family, and friends were drawn to her engaging personality and resourcefulness. She and her late husband Mario Improta, who met while working at Machlett Laboratories (which went on to become Raytheon) in Stamford in the 50s, combined their desire to build something on their own and bought the Dairy Queen in Westport in the 1970s.

It was a brave move they took to support their family of five. They went on to buy and run Mr. Deli in Darien in the 80s and after that worked side by side at Critic’s Choice in Stamford. Gloria never shied away from hard work and ways to expand her skills from computer training at IBM to certification as a nurse’s aide, graduating top of her class.

Sumner Jules Glimcher of Boulder Colorado, a former Westport and New York City resident, professor, author and filmmaker, died Feb. 27 in Boulder. He was 93.

Sumner Glimcher: professor, filmmaker. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) YouTube.com

Born in 1924 in Boston, he was a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient. After the war, he served in the Allied Forces Denazification Program sending war criminals to Nuremberg.

A 1948 Harvard College graduate, he had a fulfilling career as an author, professor and filmmaker. Award-winning films include “Fable Safe,” “North from Mexico,” and “Masterpieces of Chinese Art.”

An adjunct professor at Columbia University and Harvard College, he was president of MCI and Westminster Productions. He retired as director, Department of Film, Video, and Broadcasting, NYU School of Continuing Education.