Laura Jean Flesch

Laura Jean Flesch, 73, of Sarasota, passed away January 23, 2023, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital after a seven-year battle with a severe autoimmune disorder and related complications. She will be remembered as a loving mother, wife, and aunt, and dedicated volunteer to people and causes promoting citizen diplomacy.

Born in Manhattan on July 21, 1949, the daughter of artists and granddaughter of Hungarian immigrants, she met exploration geologist Gary Flesch in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and they married. Widowed at age 26, she moved with her 3-year-old son to Bradenton in 1976, where she was an active homemaker. She was an avid volunteer in school and extracurricular cultural activities who knew how to kindle children’s imaginations and nurture growth through the arts and sciences.

In her 40s, she began a career as fashion director for the Sarasota design studio of Eugene Alexander. In her 50s, after visiting her son and daughter-in-law in Russia, she channeled her passion for international cultures into her role as the director of the Sister City of Vladimir with Sarasota Sister Cities Association, hosting delegations to and from Vladimir, and helping to launch programs like “Trees Around the World” at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. In her 60s, she worked for Coldwell Banker and, through her leadership in Russian Heritage, met and married widower Igor Kriger.

She is survived by her son, Erik Flesch, and daughter-in-law, Sara Lomasz Flesch, of Mineral Point, Wisc.; mother-in-law Shirley Flesch; siblings-in-law Arthur Flesch, Kenneth Flesch, Donna and Nicholas Knuth, Margaret and Paul Lambis, and Christine and Fred Tokarz; and many beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, and dear friends. She was preceded in death by her mother, Velma Tihor (née Zaboly); father, Frank Tihor; and husbands Gary Flesch and Igor Kriger.

A celebration of life is planned for this fall in Sarasota. The family welcomes memorial contributions to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in her name.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmsrobartsfuneralhome.com for the Flesch family.