Calling hours for Tess Meisel — the Coleytown Middle School student killed in a motor vehicle accident Maine — are set for this Sunday (August 21), 2-6 p.m. at Harding Funeral Home, 210 Post Road East, Westport.
A memorial service will be held on Monday (August 22), 11 a.m. at the Unitarian Church, 10 Lyons Plains Rd.
Tess Meisel
Born December 27, 1998 in Los Angeles, Tess was the daughter of Suzanne Tanner and Gary Meisel, of Westport and Los Angeles; sister of Jacob Meisel, 15; granddaughter of Mary Tanner and the late Jack Tanner, of Mashpee, Massachusetts, and Harriette and Emiel Meisel, formerly of Westport and now of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and proud owner of her new 7-month old puppy, Celli — named for the orchestra section at Coleytown, where she was to enter 8th grade.
Tess was first and foremost a healer, her family said. Her tenderness, genuine empathy and radiant smile provided her the tools to help others, which she practiced daily.
Her family added: A natural giver with a humble heart, she offered random acts of kindness and love to all she encountered. She never lacked for creativity or ideas and pursued each of her ventures with determination and zest, including a small business she started selling her handcrafted jewelry to raise funds for polar bears.
In 2010, she won Connecticut’s top environmental award at the state Invention Convention for her design of a reusable pizza box.
Tess enjoyed many activities and hobbies. She was a member of Coleytown Middle School’s chamber and all-school orchestras, Westport Recreation Soccer, and Coleytown Company, where she most recently participated in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
She also enjoyed rowing crew; riding horses; crafting jewelry made from beads, gems, rocks and sea glass she scavenged, and dining. She was an avid reader, poet and writer, working on her first novel.
Her family said: She was a faithful friend to many and an inspiration to all. Her loving spirit continues to embrace each of us in her aura.
Donations in Tess’s memory may be made to the Tess Meisel Memorial Fund at the Westport Public Library, 20 Jesup Road, Westport, CT, 06880.
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There are no words. There is no way to make sense of this tragedy. May time eventually dull the agony of loss .
So very sad. To the family, we mourn your loss and the knowledge that this world is missing a cherished member.