Friends and Family Say Dancer, Just 12, Hoped to Become a Model or Actress

Friends and Family Say Dancer, Just 12, Hoped to Become a Model or Actress.
By TOM QUIGLEY

Twelve-year-old Marissa Stournaras dreamed of becoming a model and actress, those close to her said Thursday.

"She was happy, compassionate and full of life," said stepsister Leeanne Hogan.

These are difficult days for the family and friends of the young dance student who died after being struck by a van Tuesday night while crossing Route 22 in Lebanon.

Stepfather Joseph Calautti said Marissa and her mother lived with his family until two years ago, and she still referred to him as her stepfather.

Calautti said Marissa often visited his Clinton Township home to see her stepsister and other family members, including her dog, Holly.

"She loved that dog," Calautti said.

Marissa is the daughter of Georgios Stournaras, of Queens, N.Y., and Michelle Marie Laursen Stournaras, of Lebanon.

Marissa was born in Blyfa, Greece, and had lived in Clinton Township for eight years after moving from Greece.

The seventh-grader at Round Valley Middle School was popular among students at the school, officials there said.

Candy Cianflone, who Marissa referred to as her "Aunt Candy," said family members are struggling to support one another right now.

"I've known her since she was 3 years old," Cianflone said.

Kristin Kudla, dance instructor at the Broadway Bound Dance Center in Lebanon, said Marissa began taking lesson there in the late 1990s.

"She was a sweet kid, and she really just loved to dance," Kudla said. "When she was on stage, you could tell she loved what she was doing."

Kudla said Marissa was part of the school's tap-dancing team, and also enjoyed ballet and jazz.

"She was energetic," Kudla said.

Cianflone described Marissa as a beautiful girl.

"But as pretty as she was, she was not stuck up or anything," she said. "She was very down to earth."

Cianflone said the children who knew Marissa are having a difficult time.

Parents of some of those children have erected a memorial for Marissa on the center median of Route 22.

Family members and friends said they don't know why Marissa was crossing the busy highway at night.

State police are continuing their investigation of the incident.

Family members from Greece are expected to arrive this week, and other relatives from Michigan have already arrived, Calautti said.

"At least four people from Greece are coming," he said. "It's hard, she was a wonderful girl."

Calling hours will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Scarponi-Bright Funeral Home at 26 Main St. in Lebanon.

A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Church of the Holy Spirit on Haytown Road in Lebanon.

"When faced with darkness," family members said of Marissa in a prepared statement, "she always found the sunshine."

Source: New Jersey