Bennett Eugene Nocera

Bennett Eugene Nocera of Taftville, CT, died suddenly and unexpectedly on September 9, 2026, at the age of 40. Bennett was an exemplary school social worker, educator and caregiver. A proud native of Middletown, CT, he graduated from Middletown High and went on to study at Central Connecticut State University before earning his Master’s in Social Work at Fordham University and a Sixth-Year Degree in Educational Leadership at Central Connecticut State University. He then took the skills he learned there — along with a boundless capacity for compassion and love, and a profound ability to connect with and understand people — to a series of Connecticut schools, most recently the Barnard Environmental Science & Technology School in New Haven. Bennett was always looking for novel ways to help his students express themselves and communicate, often using his fluency in ASL to engage with them. Outside of the classroom, he loved sports, especially coaching youth soccer and playing softball with the New England Deaf Softball Organization.

Wherever he went and whoever he met, Bennett acted as a shining light. He left a positive, lasting impact on each soul he encountered, famously greeting everyone, loved ones and strangers alike, with an enormous hug and blinding smile. A dedicated family man of strong faith, Bennett was always there for anyone who needed him, and he will be deeply missed by the countless lives he touched.

He is survived by his beloved fiancée Melinda Gray of Griswold, CT; her children Amelia, Anderson and Emma; his mother Elizabeth Nocera of Niantic, CT; his sister Aline Nocera and brother-in-law Kevin Cunningham of Woodstock, N.Y., and a village of aunts, uncles, cousins and dear friends. He was predeceased by his father Augustine David Nocera, his stepfather Michael Long, his uncle Thomas Leonard Kratzert, his uncle Edmund J. Nocera Jr., his uncle David Beaubelle, his aunt Linda Nocera and his grandparents.

A public celebration of life will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at the First Congregational Church in Old Lyme. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Safe Futures in New London, CT (https://safefuturesct.org/), or the Barnard Elementary Family Engagement Activity Fund (email [email protected] or donate a check payable to Barnard Environmental Science & Technology School in New Haven).