Anne M. (Raphael) Furtak

    Few people had more names, more sass, and more empathy than the self-proclaimed one-and-only Anne Marie Margaret Eloise Raphael Furtak. Growing up in the Bronx, the sole sister among four brothers, Anne learned early how to crack a joke and throw a softball (also an elbow when necessary). Though she occasionally chafed at their protective ways, Anne was crazy about her brothers Joey, John, Billy and Donald. The tightknit bunch grew even closer after losing their beloved mom, and Anne did all she could to "mother" her brothers while their dad was working as a policeman in the Bronx.

    When Anne met and fell for Joe Furtak, they married and moved to West Haven, where Joanne, Brian and Nancy were born. She worked as a sales rep at Picker Corp. and Bilco for many years. Anne made lifelong friends of everyone she met--not just her coworkers, but her fellow parishioners at St. Stephens, the waitresses and regulars at Henry's and the Hamden Town House, as well as her longtime neighbors at Allene Drive and Clearview Condominiums (where she served on the board). She knew everyone's name, kids, grandkids, interests, sorrows and joys, and she cared about them all deeply and equally.

    Devoted Grandparents, Anne and Joe attended every concert, school play, baseball and soccer games they could to support their treasured grandkids Ryan Evans, Michael Franco, Bailey Furtak Valenzuela, Melissa Furtak, and Kate Perry. Anne loved music, butterflies, dessert for breakfast, the UConn Huskies, card games and meeting up with her brothers and their families in Myrtle Beach and New York.

    Though Alzheimer's stole the memory of many names and faces she held dear, Anne continued to make friends and warm hearts at Hamden Healthcare, where the team lovingly and heroically cared for her. As Anne wheeled through the halls, she never failed to ask how everyone was feeling and would always declare herself "just ducky." Though coronavirus broke our hearts and took our mom too soon, her family takes deep solace knowing that she'll be rejoining her husband Joe, her parents, and her brothers, Joey and John. We'll be loving her always.

    Due to the pandemic, burial arrangements will be handled by Washington Memorial Funeral Home and will be limited to the immediate family (Nancy and Doug Franco, Brian and Lauren Furtak, and Ken and Joanne Perry). Friends who wish to honor Anne's memory are invited to do someone a small kindness, or to send donations to the Alzheimer's Asscciation. 

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