Obituary of Lorraine Benedetto

Lorraine (Alexander) Benedetto, age 82, of Shelton, wife of the late Leonard “Butch” Benedetto, passed peacefully into eternal life on Friday, July 12, 2024. She leaves her two daughters, Dr. Linda Cozzens and her husband James of Upton, MA and Lori Mihalov and her husband Paul of Monroe, and four grandchildren, Andrew Cozzens, Noah Cozzens Modesto, Rachel Cozzens, and Max Mihalov.

Born in Bridgeport, Lorraine was the daughter of Morris R. and Rose (LaBrecque) Alexander. She graduated in the Central High School Class of 1959. She graduated in 1962 from St. Vincent School of Nursing and counted her classmates as some of her closest lifelong friends. A great joy for her was their reunions which she attended without fail.

She stayed home to raise her daughters. One of her gifts was taking part in all that her children and grandchildren were passionate about, whether it was leading Girl Scouts, or attending baseball and volleyball games, plays, concerts, dance recitals, masses, and science fairs. As her grandchildren’s interests changed and matured, she learned all she could about the topics that interested them: dinosaurs, trains, coin-collecting, art, woodworking, baseball, Boy Scouts, sports photography and rugby to name a few. Most recently, she and two of her good friends were enthusiastically participating in birding shows moderated by a grandchild who is an avid birder.

Starting in 1985, when North Park Baptist Church moved to its current location in Bridgeport, Lorraine grew deeper in her faith. She led the Ladies’ Bible Study and women’s retreats for over twenty years and was a member of the Bible Study for almost forty. She was a prayer warrior, and had a gift for convincing people to come to church with her, where they too came to faith.

In addition to her children and grandchildren, Lorraine is survived by her sisters-in-law, Barbara Alexander of Traverse City, Michigan and Patricia Greene of Shelton, and cousins-in-laws Vincent and Frank and Lisa Auriemma. She was preceded in death by her grandson David, her brothers James and Bruce Alexander, her brother-in-law Rich Greene, and her cousin-in-law Nick Auriemma.

The family would like to offer their deepest gratitude to caregivers who have worked with Lorraine through the past several years, and to Constellation Hospice, who made it possible to spend her last month in her home.

Funeral services will take place on Wednesday, July 17, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. meeting directly in the North Park Baptist Church, 5200 Park Avenue, Bridgeport. Interment will follow in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Trumbull. Friends may greet the family on Tuesday, July 16 from 4-7 pm in the Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Road, Trumbull.

In their lifetimes, Lorraine and Butch were avid supporters of the JDRF on behalf of their grandchildren, three of whom have Type 1 Diabetes, and they participated in many walk-a-thons to cure diabetes. It was Lorraine’s wish that memorial donations be made to BreakthroughT1D (formerly JDRF), at PO Box 5009, Hagerstown, MD, 21741-5009.

To leave an online condolence, visit http://www.abriola.com.