Susann Mary Costa

Susann was born October 5, 1946, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of Thomas H. Ahearn and Jane Francis Fusari.

Susann graduated from Mount St. Joseph Academy in West Hartford, Connecticut, then went on to Lasell Junior College in Newton, Massachusetts, earning a degree in nursing in 1967.

Susann married her husband of 57 years, David J. Costa, on August 31, 1968, in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Susann worked as a registered nurse in the surgical and IV departments at Mount Sinai Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut and in private practice. Together with her husband, she then co-owned and operated Bennie’s Farm Market in Centerbrook, Connecticut until their retirement in 2012.

Susann was an active member and past president of The Haddam Historical Society, a member of the Haddam Democratic Town Committee, and served as an alternate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Town of Haddam, Connecticut. She also completed volunteer training for Middlesex Health Hospice Program at Middlesex Hospital and served on an advisory board at Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown, Connecticut. Since 1967, when she was a charter member, Susann participated in the Harvard University Nurses' Study, a major, long-term research project investigating chronic diseases.

Susann is survived by her husband David J. Costa; children, Andrew Costa (Kimberly Van Orman) of Athens, Georgia, and Elisabeth Costa (Timothy Fesenmyer) and grandchildren, Cate Fesenmyer and Grant Fesenmyer of New York, New York; and sister, Nancy Jones of Kansas City, Missouri.

Visitation will be held Thursday, November 20, 2025, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home, 34 Main Street, Centerbrook, Connecticut 06409. Funeral services will be held Friday, November 21, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at St. John Parish, 161 Main Street, Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475. Interment will follow the service in Old Saybrook Riverside Cemetery, 59 Sheffield Street, Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Susann’s memory may be directed to The Haddam Historical Society in support of its annual scholarship program, which she initiated and was one of her most cherished causes. Donations should specify support for the annual scholarship program in Susann’s memory and may be made online at haddamhistory.org or by mail addressed to P.O. Box 97, Haddam, Connecticut 06438.