Nesta C. Parry

Nesta Crozier Parry, 90, of Chestnut Hill, died April 8 of heart failure at The Hill at Whitemarsh, where she had been a resident for nearly two years.

Mrs. Parry, who was known locally for her gardening skills, had worked tirelessly in the garden of her former home, The Squirrels on Towanda Street, preserving the mature landscaping already in place and adding her own touches, including a woodland area.

The garden was registered with the Smithsonian Institution.

She also excelled at needlework and, in later years, ran a business dealing in antique historical prints.

Born in London, the daughter of Col. Cecil Darley and Sybil Irene Crozier, she attended Downe House School and studied acting with Eileen Thorndike at the Embassy School of Acting, later part of the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Her first marriage to William Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, ended in divorce. At the end of World War II, she married Richard Parry and, in 1947, the couple settled in Chestnut Hill. Mr. Parry died in 1989.

Mrs. Parry loved to travel, particularly to France, where she had studied at the Sorbonne, and to Barbados, where her mother’s family had once owned property. She also enjoyed music and the theater.

She was a member of the Four Counties Garden Club and the Acorn Club, and for several years was a docent at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

She is survived by a son, Rawdon Parry, of Lawrence, Mass.; and daughters Perdita Connolly, of Ocean Grove, N.J., and Valerie Gardner, of Wawa; seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 630 E. Cathedral Road (at Ridge Avenue), in the Andorra section of Philadelphia.

Memorial donations may be made to the Rattlebox Nature Center, 220 Wawa Road, Media, PA 19063, where a free program for the blind will be established in her honor.

Karen Malandra

Karen Malandra, 45, of Mt. Airy, who had been an art teacher at several area colleges, died April 9 of gastric cancer at Abington Memorial Hospital.

For the past three years, Ms. Malandra had been an assistant professor of art at Rowan University. She had also been an adjunct instructor at Moore College of Art and earlier at the Tyler School of Art, where she had also served as an academic adviser and acting director of student affairs.

From 2004 to 2006, she was coordinator for the Community Arts and Literacy Network in North Philadelphia. She was a board member of the Gas and Electric Arts Theater Company in Philadelphia from 2005 to 2007 and was a mentor to Philadelphia middle and high school students in the Grand as Parents program from 2001 to 2006.

She began her career in education as a teaching artist at Owsley County High School in Booneville, Ky.

Raised in Warminster, Ms. Malandra was a graduate of Archbishop Wood High School and received her bachelor’s degree in printmaking from Kutztown University, where she received the Stimmel Award for Academic Achievement.

She earned a master’s degree in art education from Tyler and a doctorate in urban education from Temple University.

Ms. Malandra is survived by her husband, Jacques Wilmore Jr.; a daughter Isabella Wilmore; her parents, Vincent and Marcelline; four sisters, and three brothers.

A funeral Mass was celebrated April 13 at St. Robert Bellarmine Church in Warrington.

Stella A. Melia

Stella Anastasia Melia, 89, of Oreland, a beautician who for many years operated a salon in Chestnut Hill, died March 31 of heart failure at Abington Memorial Hospital.

Mrs. Melia was the proprietor of Robert and Stella’s Hairstyling at 8805 Germantown Ave. and later worked at Chestnut Hair.

The former Stella Bohaczyk, Mrs. Melia came to Philadelphia from Mount Carmel, Pa., as a 17-year-old to follow her dream of becoming a beautician.  She began her career at John Wanamaker’s in Center City, where she gathered a following.  Many of her customers then followed her out to the Main Line and finally to Chestnut Hill.

When she retired from Chestnut Hair in 2001 at the age of 82, she never stopped working. She continued to style the hair of family, customers and friends who either couldn’t go to a salon or who just wanted Stella to do their hair.

Mrs. Melia was a soft-spoken woman who never talked much about herself but was always interested in hearing about her customers and their lives.

A funeral service was held April 4 at St.Philip-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, 317 Oreland Mill Road, Oreland, PA 19075, where she was a member. Memorial donations may be made to the above church.