COOPERSTOWN – With the love of her husband, Wendell, her family, and her many friends in her heart, Maria Tripp of Cooperstown passed away at Bassett Hospital on May 9, 2023, after a brief illness. She leaves a robust legacy of love, kindness and affection that will live on through all who knew her.
Maria was born to Hector and Popi Kontinou on February 15, 1937, in Athens, Greece. She endured German occupation and witnessed the Greek Civil War as a young Athenian. She attended an English-speaking school in Athens, where she excelled at her studies. Maria was awarded a full scholarship to Elmira College, crossed the Atlantic in a passenger liner to come to America alone, and earned a BA in English. She married Ansis Zamelis in 1957 and they moved from Ithaca to New York City. They first came to Cooperstown in 1967, then relocated to Old Greenwich, Connecticut. She came back to Cooperstown in 1971, where she enjoyed the remainder of her full and productive life. She was employed by Van Horne, Feury & Gozigian, the New York State Historical Association, and eventually retired from Bassett Research Institute.
Maria married the love of her life, Wendell E. Tripp, in 1987 and they shared over three and a half decades of love, family, mutual admiration, and respect. For more than 50 years, Maria loved to visit our local parks, especially Three Mile Point, and is known by many for her determined walks around the streets of her village and beyond. A talented artist, Maria enjoyed painting local landscapes in and around Otsego Lake. Maria made friends easily and enjoyed many groups of loving friends, including her painting buddies, SQPCA Thrift Shop friends, Pyramid Lake companions, Yellowstone traveling gang, and former colleagues, to name a few.
Maria is predeceased by her brother, Costas Kontinou, and is survived by her loving husband, Wendell, as well as her oldest son, Robert Zamelis, his wife Christan (Hood) and their daughter Madelyn; her son Douglas Zamelis, his wife Cheryl (Pratt), their daughter Ariadne and her husband Alex Wright, and their son Nicholas and his companion Lauren Perry. Maria is also survived by Wendell’s children, Dana Peeters, her husband Martin, her daughter Stefanie and her husband, Kyllan Brindle, and their children, Tolba, Carmella, and Aoife; MariaRosa Konopka, her companion Robert Verklas, and her daughter Giuliana, and her son Andrew Konopka and his daughter Vivianne; Nancy Morris and her husband Dan, and their children Olivia and Leland; and Robert Tripp, his wife Angela, and their children Samantha and John.
Maria will be remembered fondly for her boundless love for her family and friends, her keen sense for beauty in life, music, art, and nature, and her willingness to tell you exactly what she thought.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Maria’s memory may be made to the Cooperstown Art Association.
If you would like to send condolences to the family, send an email to Connell, Dow & Deysenroth. We will forward your comments to the family. If you would like to send flowers in memory of the deceased, contact Mohican Flowers at (607) 547-8822, or A Rose is a Rose at (607) 264-3100.
