December 2020

Thomas Alexander Jensen, beloved son and brother, passed away on Sunday, December 13, 2020. He was the son of Alexander and Monica Jensen of Portland, and brother to Sarah and her husband, Nathan Grover of Portland and to Rose Jensen and her husband, Warren Amidon of Southington. He dearly loved his nephew and niece, Jack and Vivian Grover, and was looking forward to meeting his new nephew in the spring. He also leaves his grandmother, Joan Richard of South Bend, Indiana, and aunts, uncles, and cousins across the country. Tom was born June 27, 1987 and grew up in Portland. He was a Cub Scout, played Little League and CYO Basketball and was a member of the Portland High School golf team. He graduated Portland High School in 2005 and Central Connecticut State University in 2010. He worked for many years in landscaping and golf course maintenance. He loved cars, was an avid Patriots fan, and seemingly, had a Seinfeld reference for any occasion. He had many dear and life-long friends who have been lifelines for him.  We will miss his sense of humor and golden heart. 

Services will be private. For those wishing to make a memorial contribution please consider giving to Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities at ecad1.org ,  an organization that has been important for his niece, Vivian.  

The Portland Memorial Funeral Home, 231 Main St., Portland is in charge of arrangements.

Rose Ferrigno Shefcyk, 93, of Portland, CT passed away at Middlesex Memorial Hospital in the early morning of December 6, 2020 due to natural causes. She was born on November 26, 1927 in Middletown. She was the youngest daughter of Antonio and Michela (Ranno) Ferrigno. Rose worked at Travelers Insurance for many years until retirement. She was married to Anthony (Tony) Shefcyk on May 13, 1950 and was a loving mother to her sons David and Jim. Rose and Tony enjoyed spending many summers sailing The Falcon on Long Island Sound and dining at local shoreline restaurants.

Rose was a gifted artist, developing her skills with watercolor, pen, and other media over the years. She was also a storyteller and a writer, capturing her family history in short story format and entertaining the family with tales of her youth. Her warmth, sense of humor, and strength in the face of loss and illness will always be remembered.

She was predeceased by her husband Tony and her son David. She is survived by her son Jim Shefcyk and his wife Ruth Matthews of Clinton, CT, her daughter-in-law Jean Shefcyk of West Hartford, CT, her granddaughters Allison Shefcyk of West Hartford and Carolyn Shefcyk of Belmont, MA, and many nieces and nephews.

Special thanks to the healthcare workers, family, and friends who took care of Rose in the last months of her life. The family is not planning public funeral services at this time due to COVID-19.

The Portland Memorial Funeral Home, 231 Main St, Portland, is in charge of arrangements.

George G. Yuska aged 43, passed away suddenly, on November 25, 2020. He was born in Windham, Ct on September20, 1977 son of Constance and the late ,Gregory Yuska and brother of Gerald. Showing an interest in cars from a young age. He graduated from UCONN and received a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a masters at  Rensselaer. Upon graduating he worked in the aerospace industry at Pratt & Whitney and Northrop Grummon. 

He worked in the family business at Portland Care and Rehabilitation Centre helping to care for the local community and advocating for the patients. This resulted in Portland Care and Rehabilitation Centre achieving a 5-star rating and being recognized in the community and the area as providing the highest quality of care. 

His real passion, however, was for cars and car racing which  followed him throughout his life culminating in Car Racing at Stafford Springs in the  Late Model Division. In his spare time, he was able to pursue his hobby and passion of racing and rebuilding cars. He could always be found on Fridays nights racing his Street Stock at Stafford Springs Speedway or at several other tracks in the area. On his other free nights, he could be found rebuilding his collection of classic cars. George’s lived his life on the edge and to its fullest and fully committed to  pursuing his dreams. 

Private graveside services will be held in Rose Hill Memorial Park Cemetery in Rocky Hill. The Portland Memorial Funeral Home, 231 Main St, Portland is in charge of arrangements.

Phyllis Rose (Sadlowski) Marino, 82, of Portland, beloved wife of Joseph C. Marino passed away peacefully at her home on Friday December 18, 2020. Phyllis was born on February 11, 1938 in Middletown, CT to the late Stanley and Rose Sadlowski. 

Besides her loving husband Joe of 62 years, she leaves behind daughters Rosanne Fitzgerald and husband Tom and Jackie Colon and husband Louie, and sons John Marino and wife Lynn and Joseph Marino Jr. She also leaves behind brother n law William Dickinson, 10 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren whom she loved dearly.

Phyllis was predeceased by her brother Stanley Sadlowski Jr and wife Evelyn and sister Gloria Dickinson. 

A week after her husband Joe arrived from Sicily he met the love of his life Phyllis. Joe traveled to Portland looking for work in the tobacco fields. Low and behold he met Rose and Stanley Sadlowski, employees of the local tobacco field in Portland. They then introduced their daughter Phyllis to Joe and the rest is history.

Phyllis was a dedicated employee of Pratt and Whitney for over 20 years. After her retirement from Pratt she worked as a crossing guard and paraprofessional in the Portland school systems where she acted as a second mother to all the students.

Phyllis loved spending time with and cooking for her family. She loved traveling to the happiest place on earth, Disney. She loved strolling around Epcot visiting all of the different countries and tasting all of the different foods. Phyllis was an avid tennis fan and had a special love for Roger Federer and John McEnroe.

A mass of Christian burial will be held on Wednesday, December 23rd at 11:30 a.m. in St Mary’s Church, 51 Freestone Ave, Portland. Burial will be in the family plot in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Portland. There are no calling hours. The Portland Memorial Funeral Home, 231 Main St, Portland, is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Association, Dept. 41831, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas, TX, 75265.