Charlene Herta Fusaris (née Ahlers) of Hamden passed away unexpectedly on September 25, 2020 at the age of 59.
Charlene was born on November 23, 1960 in New Haven and was raised in Hamden. She graduated from Hamden High School in 1978 and continued to reside in Hamden until her death.
She was the loving daughter of the late Albert Carl Ahlers originally of Newburgh, New York and the late Ingeborg Herta Ahlers (née Pröbstel) originally of Erlangen, Germany. Charlene is survived by her son, Ethan Oliver Fusaris and his fiancée Megan TeLinde McDavid and countless extended family and devoted friends, particularly her grandniece and goddaughter Ashley Hawley, cousin and lifelong friend Paula Pini, and best friend and sister by heart Betsy Caponera. Charlene is also survived by a community of friends made up of employees and customers at the Stop & Shop Supermarket on Amity Road in New Haven, where she worked for 42 years.
Charlene will be most remembered for her daily acts of kindness and selflessness. She always saw the good in everything and experienced joy through helping others. Charlene was incredibly genuine, accepting, free-spirited, and full of happiness. She made friends wherever she went and enjoyed connecting with loved ones over meals, movie nights, and long phone calls. She loved celebrating holidays (especially Halloween), dyeing her hair every color of the rainbow, her rescue dog Harry Potter, and being a mom.
BEECHER & BENNETT, 2300 Whitney Ave, Hamden in care of arrangements. A service to celebrate her life will be held at a later date due to the pandemic. In lieu of flowers, please "treat yourself" to lunch with a loved one that would create a memory for you to look back on and smile. For those whom would find comfort in making a charitable contribution in honor of Charlene, an organization that was meaningful to her is the City of Hartford Animal Shelter, 120 Rescue Lane, Bloomfield, CT. 06002. To leave a condolence for her family please see obituary at www.beecherandbennett.com