Sylvia Willa Kronstadt

Sylvia and I met in our 7th grade English class. She was wild and smart and fun right front the start. She distinguished herself by a sassy and alert personality. Sylvia connected well with her friends and it was a privilege to be one. We remained very good friends through high school, connected by our love for words and writing. Through college, I was in Theater and English, and she majored in Journalism and the Daily Collegian at University of Utah. When she travelled to and worked in England and New York, her colorful and lively descriptions took us there. Her friends where big shot writers like Brendan Gill. I was reading some of her letters this summer and as we all know, her letters, her talent for writing was a gift. I'll never forget my early teaching career in Colorado and sitting down at the landromat to open up a couple of magazines, Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker -- to find Sylvia's articles there. She was amazing. I am sorry I lost touch, but am so grateful to have been her friend and to know her Mom and Dad and sisters who are all cultured, artistic, talented, and unique. Love, Berta

I was so saddened to learn of Sylvia's death. We'd lost touch with each other, which was my loss, because she was one of the most gifted writers I knew and worked with. She was never afraid to challenge conventional ways of doing things and she had a disconcerting way of almost always being right. I understand the hole she has left and I offer my condolences to the family, and to Deseret News icon and my friend, Joe Costanzo. Don Woodward