Deborah Star Fraites

Deborah Star Fraites, of Bethel, Connecticut, passed away unexpectedly on September 23, 2025, surrounded by her loving family.

Born in Glen Cove, New York, on January 4, 1952, to Eleanor M. Short and Herbert Vernon Trafford, Deborah lived a full and generous life defined by compassion, curiosity, and service to others. She was an active woman involved in numerous charities, organizations, and philanthropies. She held many roles in her lifetime, but her current work was as a tutor of dyslexic children with the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Connecticut.

Deborah grew up in Dorset, Vermont, surrounded by open pastures and Morgan horses. She attended Burr & Burton Academy, where she was the editor of the school newspaper and the yearbook. After high school, Deborah had multiple roles, finally settling into a career in dentistry. There, she was a dental assistant/office manager for a small practice in Cohoes, NY.

Deborah met Joe at a wedding in 1978 where they danced all night and married four years later. They moved to Port Washington, NY. Deborah finished her Bachelor of Science degree, graduating summa cum laude from the New York Institute of Technology. With degree in hand, Deborah capitalized on her dental experience and became an Instructor of Dental Assisting at a New York vocational school.

From there, Deborah embarked on her most joyous career, Mothering, and dove into it with the same zest, commitment, and loving demeanor that characterized all that she did. In each place she lived - Port Washington, NY, Weston, CT and Bethel, CT - Deborah touched countless lives with her generosity and spirit, leaving behind a legacy of love and kindness that will long be remembered.

She is survived by her husband, Joseph (Joe); two wonderful daughters, Lauren and Tatum (husband Ben Krueger); cherished grand pup, Rylie; her sister, Patricia Trafford, and brother, David Trafford (wife Holly). A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, October 26, 2025, at 12:00 noon at Norfield Congregational Church (64 Norfield Rd, Weston, CT). A reception will follow the service in the adjoining Parish Hall.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations in Deborah’s memory to either the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Waterbury, CT,(https://www.childrensdyslexiacenters.org/centers/connecticut-connecticut), La Leche League of CT, (https://www.lllct.org) or Norfield Congregational Church, Weston, CT, (https://norfield.org).

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