Our precious Tara passed away unexpectedly in her home on Wednesday, August 7th of unknown natural causes. Tara was born August 1st, 1988—the first-born child to joy-filled parents, Joe and Robin Florio. In addition to her parents and loving husband, Steven Bouza, she leaves behind her sister, Kaitlyn Florio; her maternal grandparents, Beverly and Merrill Burchard; her mother-in-law, Estelle Bouza; and three cats: Zoe, Zena, and Lily. Tara is survived by many loving family members and friends who will miss her dearly.
When Tara was almost two, she became a big sister. She loved taking care of Kait and their relationship was one of her most cherished. At a young age, Tara developed a love of books and reading. Whether it was one book multiple times or six picture books in one sitting, it didn’t matter to her. Growing up in Norwalk, Tara played the saxophone and joined the color guard at West Rocks Middle School, which eventually led her to the Norwalk High School marching band. The award-winning NHS band competed locally and nationally, so Tara was able to visit places such as Indiana, Florida, and California. She also loved being behind the scenes of the musicals— running the spotlight from the balcony was her favorite job. Her love of theater continued throughout her life.
Tara had been working at Deborah Rhodes New York since 2011. As with any small office, each employee wears many hats. Tara took on each job with gusto and passion whether it was designing custom table settings, helping in shipping, or building the retail website. Representing the company at trade shows, she brought in record sales while building strong and lasting relationships with many buyers around the world.
On December 30th, 2016, she married Steve on the 10th anniversary of their first date. The storybook wedding took place at the New Haven Lawn Club amidst sparkling decorations in the art deco-inspired ballroom. Guests danced the night away to David Bowie, Billy Joel, and Elton John. Everyone agreed that it was the most beautiful wedding they’d ever attended.
Tara’s life was filled with concerts, plays, family gatherings, and time with close friends. In the last week of her life, she saw The Rolling Stones on her birthday, picked blueberries, lounged at the pool with her grandparents, went to the SoNo Arts Fest, ate hibachi birthday dinner with friends, and enjoyed a quiet night out with her mother-in-law, Estelle.
Tara will be remembered for her beautiful smile, brightly colored lipsticks, love of dresses (with pockets), shoe collection, unique jewelry, perfect eyeliner and eyebrows, ability to split the check, and unending kindness. She loved cats, watching Bob Ross and The Office, finding the perfect seat at a concert, trying new restaurants, savoring the perfect last bite, drinking margaritas at Rancho Allegre, and schooling Steve on classic rock.
Tara had friends from every stage of life, but none closer than The Taco Belles, who love Broadway sing-alongs, puzzles, and talking for hours. All of Tara’s friends will miss her forever.
Most of all, Tara loved her family. She and her many cousins would get together for the occasional dinner or afternoon drinks. To her parent’s delight, Tara loved to attend and coordinate family outings to concerts, plays, and Yankee games. Tara felt that birthdays and holidays are best spent with as much extended family as possible.
The wake will be held at Collins Funeral home at 92 East Ave on Sunday, August 11th, from 2-6 p.m. and the burial will begin on Monday, August 12th at 11 a.m. Procession to the cemetery in Greenwich will start at noon.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:
- Tara’s favorite radio station Fordham’s WFUV:
- Visit support.wfuv.org to donate
- In the comment line, note “Keeping music alive, in memory of Tara Florio”
- The Bennett Cancer Foundation at Stamford Hospital, where her mom received such wonderful care in 2017:
- Visit support.stamfordhospitalfoundation.org to donate
- Her husband’s employer, Axiom Technology, has set up a GoFundMe for the family:
- Visit gofundme.com/in-memory-of-tara-florio to donate
