Constance Sue Rafelson

Constance "Connie" Rafelson returned to God at age 78 in the wee hours of Tuesday, April 14th, 2026, in Moorestown, New Jersey, having been kissed goodbye just hours earlier by her family, her granddog Franklin, the breeze from budding cherry blossoms, and the melodies of her friends George, Van, Joni, Cat, and Bob. A hospital librarian, schoolteacher, healthcare worker, caregiver, volunteer, wife, and greatest of all: mother - she braved a long battle against a primary progressive illness as a resident at Harmony Village Moorestown, NJ since 2018, where she was on hospice for over a year. Despite the weight of her disease, family and caregivers could always retrieve the beautiful light of her soul by looking in her eyes, and smiling.

Connie was born at Columbia Presbyterian on April 1947 to mother Marion Levin, a speech pathologist in Bronx, NY Public Schools, and Otto Wantuch, a chemical engineer. Marion taught Connie to see the light in every being, and refrain from judging others. At the age of three, she moved from the Bronx to L.A., where her father helped develop Cinemascope 2 at 20th Century Fox, working in numerous films including The King and I. According to family lore, Uncle Karl would invite Connie on the set of I Love Lucy where she quickly became the apple of Lucille's eye. She returned to New York City, graduating from public school in the Bronx, going on to study at Queens College, majoring in history. In between high school and college she studied for a summer in Cambridge, MA, where her preternatural beauty inspired a 1966 college article, "Quincy: Where the Boys Aren't."

Connie, a second-generation teacher and graduate of UPenn, prioritized education above all, and aligned with the Quaker philosophy, as taught by Westfield Friends School principal Bill Probsting, that God was present in all things, at all times - from the cafeteria table to the custodian's smile - and not some faraway astral plane, or some distant future. A lover of babies and dogs, a great joy was to walk her Jack Russell Terrier, Jake, dubbed "my own little RCA dog," to all the Moorestown landmarks and back home, smiling at passersby. She abhorred grudges between siblings, between friends, or anyone. She did not strictly adhere to religion, feeling there was already enough division in this world. When her children were starting out on their own and would need someone to break down and cry to, Connie would answer, listening quietly, until the child could gain composure and begin to brainstorm. Later, she worked as an office manager for her husband's gastroenterology office, deftly managing a multi-site practice including Mt. Laurel and Frankford-Torresdale, organizing and transporting charts, doing patient intake, helping patients schedule endoscopies, educating on preps and medication holds, always double- and triple-checking: right patient, right place, right time. She would show her children paper clippings from the Courier Post, praising the work of her office and its doctor, after saving a patient from cancer.

Her family gives heartfelt thanks to the countless individuals reaching out - even if they don't reply. They give thanks that Connie's love was stronger than her illness; and that the happy memories continue to rise to the surface. Her family expresses deep gratitude to the angels donned in scrubs and work polos at Harmony Village Moorestown, who risked it all, each day, resolved to keep her and her neighbors safe during the pandemic and beyond; who treated her with kindness and compassion until the very end.

Connie is predeceased by her mother Marion, father Otto, brother-in-law Greg Kannerstein, brother-in-law Norman Rafelson, father-in-law Sam Rafelson, mother-in-law Martha Rafelson - all of blessed memory.

She is survived by her husband Stephen, daughter Amanda, sons Paul and William, daughters-in-law Karolina and Tovah, grandchildren Zosia, Michael, Samara, her sister Elissa Sklaroff, niece Sara Sklaroff and husband Kevin Carey, their children; cousins Margo Lightman and Rebecca Rafelson; and all of her beautiful extended families. There are numerous others in her life that can't fit in this column. In lieu of flowers or donations, she would ask you to consider a person in your life - past or present - with whom you have hard feelings - to try to soften them - to try and make peace. She will be buried with the box of ashes of her beloved dog Jake, which have been waiting for a proper home for some time now.

Funeral will be held 11 AM, Thursday, April 16th, Graveside, at the Parkview Cemetery at Kirby Mill, 25 Foster Town Rd., Medford, NJ 08055. Shiva at 1:30 PM, Moorestown, NJ. Friday afternoon will be a Shiva at 4:00 PM in South Orange, NJ. For those who wish to pay their respects, but can't - she understands. Anytime, anywhere, anyhow is fine. She is happy to listen.