Zelda (Orfinger) Lessne, 84, a longtime Glastonbury resident, passed away peacefully on November 8, 2019. She was born in Brooklyn, NY, daughter of the late Louis and Mollie (Rabinowitz) Orfinger. She was the former Registrar of Voters for the Town of Glastonbury for 13 years after retiring from the Connecticut Department of Higher Education. Since 1981 she has been a member and was currently chair of the Glastonbury Housing Authority and was instrumental in the development of the Herbert T. Clarke House and the recent redevelopment of the Center Village and Knox Lane Senior Housing Complexes. She was a member of Kol Haverim in Glastonbury, and a 25 year member of the Glastonbury Federated Woman’s Club. “Zee” was a well-known fixture in the Glastonbury community, teaching Mah Jongg for 25 years at the Community Center and knitting/crocheting at the Herbert T. Clarke House. Since 1970 she was a member of the Glastonbury Democratic Town Committee, serving as their first woman chair from 1991-1994 and receiving the Glastonbury Democrat of the Year in 1994 and the Manchester Democratic Town Committee “Honoring Friends” award in 2018. She was also a member of the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee representing the 4th State Senate District. Zelda is survived by her sons Scott Lessne of Potomac, Maryland and Eric Lessne of West Hartford; their wives, Deborah Lessne and Sharon Lessne; five grandchildren: Jaime, Irina, Alec, Sarah, and Jacob; one great-grandchild, Brycen; and her brother, Ronald Orfinger and his wife Pat of Long Island, New York. Donations in her memory should be made to the Herbert T. Clarke House, 45 Canione Rd., Glastonbury, CT 06033. Funeral services will be Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 11AM, at the Glastonbury Funeral Home, 450 New London Turnpike, Glastonbury, CT 06033. All are invited to gather at the funeral home from 10AM-11AM for a time of visitation. Burial will follow in Green Cemetery, 117 Hubbard St., Glastonbury, CT. For more information or to leave an online condolence, please visit www.glastonburyfuneral.com
