Anitra Stippa Christoffel Pell, 74, of Keene Valley and New York City collapsed and died from a brain hemorrhage while on a Road Scholar trip to Cuba on March 28th. Anitra, an active member and supporter of many local cultural organizations, was serving as a board member of the Adirondack History Museum in Elizabethtown and the Adirondack Film Society in Lake Placid. Anitra also led a full life in New York City, supporting the New York City Opera and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In addition to her passion for the arts, Pell was a master gardener and avid outdoors-woman, who brought intensity and intelligence to any endeavor in which she was engaged.
Anitra, daughter of Oswald and Irene Stippa, was born in Poughkeepsie, NY. She attended State University of New York at New Paltz, taught English and Art History Honors for 30 years at Baldwin Senior High School on Long Island, and beloved by her students having an entire file cabinet filled with correspondence with them. Later in life, Anitra worked towards a PhD in Medieval Studies at the City University of New York.
Anitras first marriage to the artist Daniel M. Christoffel ended in divorce. She met Robert L. (Robin) Pell, on a trip to Keene to hike the High Peaks. Connecting in a local tavern, they discovered they had many shared passions beyond the love of the outdoors. A commuting romance, often conducted through an ongoing exchange of letters, led to marriage in 1993. They continued their life together, divided between her home, garden and work in Baldwin, and his East Side apartment in Manhattan. Later, they made their Main Street home in Keene Valley their primary residence where they maintained a garden and were devoted to the community.
Anitras husband, Robin, was a board member of Fort Ticonderoga, the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, the Adirondack Film Society, and the Keene Valley Library. He was a member of the Ausable Club and the Keene Valley Country Club, organizations that Anitra became active with as well. Her love of arts led her to expand her involvement to include the East Branch Friends of the Arts, the Adirondack History Museum in Elizabethtown, Adirondack Architectural Heritage, and most recently, the Upper Jay Art Center popularly known as the Recovery Lounge.
For the Film Society, Anitra sponsored the annual Robin Pell Emerging Filmmaker Award, named in her late husbands honor and awarded to the winner of the Sleepless in Lake Placid competition held during the Lake Placid Film Forum that challenges teams of film students from Northeastern colleges to conceptualize, write, film, edit and screen a 10-minute short within 24 hours.
Following the death of Robin, Anitra remained a vibrant and engaged presence in the community. Four years ago she sold her house in Baldwin and bought an apartment in New York City, three blocks from her beloved Lincoln Center. She took out season tickets and became a patron of several major cultural organizations, often running to two or more concerts in one day. At the same, Anitra became trained and certified as a Long Term Care Ombudsman for older adults and people with disabilities living in nursing homes, assisted living, and other licensed New York State adult care homes. She served at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Center where she worked tirelessly to support patients and their families.
Over the past decade, Anitra had been living with and aggressively fighting cancer. Her sudden death in Cuba was a shock to her friends and family; however it does bring great comfort that it happened while she was doing what she loved learning, adventuring, and being thoroughly involved in life.
Anitra was a member of and active volunteer in the ministry of the Keene Valley Congregational Church and the Memorial Episcopal Chapel of St. Huberts. She was predeceased by her parents and two sisters; Ingrid Sybil (Stippa) Webber and Delores (Stippa) Hanlon, and is survived by her brother Oz Stippa, and many nieces and nephews. A funeral service will be held in July at the Keene Valley Congregational Church. Contributions in her memory are asked to made to the Adirondack History Museum or the Recovery Lounge/Upper Jay Arts Center.
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