Obituary: Carolyn J. Cesare, 80, Of Hamden

HAMDEN, CT — (From Sisk Brothers Funeral Home): Carolyn Josephson Cesare, 80, passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Tuesday, Jan. 10. She was born in New Haven to Victor and Elizabeth Josephson on December 9, 1942. She was the wife of the late Frank P Cesare III, who predeceased her on May 1, 2000.

Carol was a graduate of Wilbur Cross High School and worked as a senior administrative assistant at Bethlehem Steel Corporation before leaving to start her family in the 1960s after marrying Frank in 1964.

After raising her five children, she returned to work at Yale University where she was in charge of the medical school residency program, planning residency placements for newly graduated medical doctors from Yale Medical School, many of whom she maintained close ties with after their graduation.

Earlier in her career at Yale she also worked in the Yale Graduate School and School of Management.

Carol was known as the “Matriarch” of the Cesare Family. She and her family are very active in Hamden politics. Always devoted to family as well as to her town, she was a proud Cub Scout Den Mother, organizing numerous scouting activities for neighborhood children. She was a guiding force in organizing the Hamden Plains Neighborhood Block Watch, with the Hamden Police Department.

When her late husband passed away in 2000, she was instrumental in creating a memorial fund in his honor that raised money for public safety initiatives including two police dogs for the Town of Hamden, through a memorial golf tournament which the family sponsored for 10 years.

An avid traveler, she visited 34 different countries in her life in Europe, Asia, North America and the Caribbean, as well as on several cruises to Bermuda, the Caribbean and most recently to Alaska.

While she was fascinated with many different cultures around the world, her heart was always found in Italy, which she visited over 10 times with her family and travel partner son Austin.

A highlight of her life was reconnecting with her Hungarian relatives in 2013, visiting the villages where her grandmother and grandfather came from and meeting her relatives still living there. She also established close ties with relatives in Italy, visiting the ancestral village of her late husband multiple times over the last two decades and hosting relatives from there at her home.

Ever the learner and a firm believer in the importance of education, she loved learning about new cultures and how to cook and bake recipes from the places she traveled to through the years.

Locally she enjoyed family trips to Lake George, the Berkshires and to York Beach Maine as well as Lancaster County and the Blue Ridge Mountains. She also enjoyed day trips up to Litchfield County and enjoyed many trips to the Hudson River Valley in upstate New York. She was very fond of New Hampshire and Vermont and spent many weekends and vacations visiting there with family.

Carol enjoyed long rides, dining out at local restaurants, quilting, babysitting grandchildren, following family and friends on Facebook, watching her daily mass, canning tomatoes from her garden and making family holidays special with her outstanding cooking and baking. She loved any occasion that brought her five children and six grandchildren together.

Much of her time was also focused on attending her grandchildren’s sporting events in hockey and golf as well as gymnastics. She loved family get togethers, especially during the holidays, when she would bake 100-year-old traditional Hungarian cookie recipes passed down through her family, and amazing dishes from the many places she visited.

She lived life to the fullest and often said she had no regrets in the end.

We will miss her smile, laugh and her tremendous, unwavering devotion to her children and grandchildren.

She is survived by her five children, Christopher (Sherri), Craig (Kelly), Austin, Heather (Anthony) and Jonathan. She’s also survived by six grandchildren whom she adored Lauren, Matthew, Christopher Jr., Kate, Craig Jr. and Gabriella Cesare. She was survived by a brother Victor and predeceased by two sisters, Elizabeth and Ellen.

Special thanks to the Yale Cardiology ICU for their care and support of Carol during her recent stay at Yale New Haven Hospital.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be Celebrated at Our Lady of MT. Carmel Church, Monday (Jan. 15) at 10 a.m. Burial in Centerville cemetery. Friends can visit at Sisk Brothers Funeral Home, 3105 Whitney Ave. Hamden, Sunday from 2 - 5 p.m.

Memorial contributions should be made in Carol’s honor to The Diocese of Hartford Office of Radio and Television, 15 Peach Orchard Rd. Prospect, CT. 06712 to help fund the daily televised Mass.

For more information and to leave online condolences, visit Sisk Brothers Funeral Home here.