Ellen Clas

WATERFORD, CT - Ellen (Puhalla) Clas passed away June 3rd, 2025, after a short illness. Born January 23, 1966, Ellen was one of five children to William J. and Joyce (Gilcris) Puhalla.

Ellen graduated early and with honors from Wahconah Regional High School where she also excelled in swimming (swimming on the boys' varsity team) and track & field events breaking school records for shot put and discus. She then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health & Technology from Springfield College and her Master's degree in Industrial Hygiene at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Ellen had a very successful and varied career within the loss prevention, industrial hygiene and emergency management fields. She held and maintained a variety of professional designations including Certified Safety Profession, Certified Industrial Hygienist, Certified Emergency Manager and Certified Business Continuity Manager among others.

After graduating from Springfield College, she started her career as a safety consultant at Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. soon becoming an industrial hygienist. After 10 years she began working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). She had an impressive history of participation in numerous high-profile national emergency response and recovery efforts - including as the lead FEMA Safety Officer for the efforts in New York City following 9-11, the disaster Safety Coordinator for federal operations in Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina and assignments to FEMA's HQ regarding the development of safety related criteria to the National Response Framework.

After leaving FEMA, Ellen concentrated her time on her company, Clas Consulting, where she directed a team of experts in the fields or industrial hygiene, safety, fire services, law enforcement and emergency management. She and her team provided training to domestic and international government agencies, as well as non-profit and commercial organizations. During this time, Ellen was part of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill response team, helping ensure the health and safety of oil cleanup crews.

Ellen exhibited professional excellence in everything she did and was eager to share her knowledge as an educator, creating graduate-level courses at Cambridge College, Boston, MA. In addition, she was the safety & environmental health coordinator at Curry College, Milton, MA. She also served on the board of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). Leading up to her death, Ellen was employed by ASRC Federal Field Services to manage the health & safety of all those working at Plum Island Animal Disease Center (under the U.S. Department of Agriculture).

Ellen was an avid swimmer, a dog-lover, and a prolific traveler who loved to experience other cultures and their food. Some of her favorite places and trips were to Amsterdam, Iceland, India, Alaska and the Amazon River.

Ellen is survived by her husband (Peter) whom she met in 1986, mother (Joyce), and siblings David (Patty) Puhalla, Lynne (Jeffrey) Carlson, and Ann (Robert) Keville, and her best friend of 50+ years, Amy (Scott) Chapman-Johnson. She is predeceased by her father (Bill), and brother Thomas Puhalla.

She was a devoted aunt who enjoyed spending time with her nieces and nephews - Jennifer (Johnny) Gabaldon & family, Jon (Shannon) Puhalla, Thomas (Annya) Keville, and Claire (Paul) Martinez & family and Jennifer (Brian) Munyan & family.

Per Ellen's wishes her ashes will be scattered by her husband Peter and her close family and friends.