Obituary: Dr. Constance M. Fusco, 91, of Guilford

Obituary courtesy of Porto Funeral Home:

On July 10, 2023, Dr. Constance M. Fusco passed away at St. Raphael Hospital, New Haven, after a brief illness. She was 91 years of age leaving her husband, Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D. just shy of 70 years of marriage. Connie was a stunning woman (her husband always called her Gorgeous), but she was also considered a very lovely human being because she cared deeply for family and friends and particularly children. Her 14 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren would all agree that Grandma Connie was the “bestist”. She was born in New Britain, CT on February 21, 1932, to Charles and Lucy Mazzarella. She was the second of three children, one deceased older brother Salvatore, and a younger sister, Rosalie Gansecki, of Boulder, Colorado. She attended public schools graduating in 1950 and started her first career job at a startup TV station, Channel 30, where she remained until her marriage to Armand who was completing his military service in the U.S. Army. During this time Connie worked nights at the Brown Trucking Company as a dispatcher. The college years started their family with two children, Alan C. Fusco, Ph.D., a computer analyst, married to Theresa Bloom, rearing six children, residing in Rockford, Illinois. Donna Marie Howell was their second child, who worked together with her husband, Lloyd, doing house inspections, and they have 4 children. Finally, they purchased a starter home in Enfield, CT. While there Connie & Armand raised two additional children, Kevin A. Fusco, Executive Director of a Habitat for Humanity Affiliate. He married Lauren Smith, and they raised 3 daughters, residing in Foxboro MA. The last child was Michael C. Fusco, a retired police detective, Shelton, CT, who has a daughter and married Linda Garamella, residing in Orford, NH. During this time, Connie became a real estate broker and while trying to find day care for Michael, decided to start her own school, the Country Day School. Because of her knowledge of the real estate, she found a ship captain’s home built in 1822 that served as home for the school and the family. The center flourished for ten years with upwards of 300 students in 3 locations. The house became her dream home. This experience caused her at the age of 36 to start college, and she took to college like a duck to water racing through one degree after another in psychology as a straight A student becoming a school psychologist in Ludlow, MA. While there, she finished her college education receiving her Doctor of Education degree from UMASS at Amherst. Because Connie was juggling a college education, a real estate office, and a day care center the local editor of the Enfield Press did a column and dubbed her “superwife.” They eventually moved to Guilford, CT because her husband became superintendent in nearby Branford. Not to be outdone, Connie became Director of Special Education in Madison, CT and eventually became Assistant Superintendent of Schools where she remained for 17 years until her “first” retirement in 2004. Her commitment to education did not stop with her retirement and she soon became involved as chair of the Guilford Youth & Family Services board and co-chair of the Schiller Shoreline Institute for Lifelong Learning. She remained as president for ten years bringing the membership from about 50 to over 500. Her tireless efforts were recognized by her peers at a gathering held at the Guilford Community Center on October 14, 2020. She was described as having an upbeat and positive approach to leading the organization through its growing years and beyond. She will be sorely missed not just by those she worked with, but all those who lives she touched and whose lives touched hers; she is an inspiration for others to follow.
Family and friends are invited to a Parlor Service Saturday at 12:00 PM in the PORTO FUNERAL HOME, 234 Foxon Rd. (Rte 80) East Haven. Interment will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the Guilford Seniors, Attn: Terry Holland-Buckley, 32 Church St., Guilford, CT 06437.