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Stephanie Alexis Cerrito

Stephanie Alexis Cerrito, 47, of Branford, passed away peacefully after a courageous battle with cancer, with her family and close friends by her side. Stephanie was born Nov. 15, 1975, in New Haven to Diane and Steven Haynes. She was the beloved wife of Mark A. Cerrito. Besides Mark, she is survived by her sons, Miles and Gavin Cerrito, and her siblings, Jason, Errik, and Jill Sparks.

Stephanie mostly grew up in Short Beach (many knew her as “Nini”), where she was surrounded by neighbors who became some of her dearest lifelong friends, whom she thought of as family. Mark was her high school sweetheart, and they were each other’s soulmate for 17 years of marriage. Stephanie studied to be a physician’s assistant and worked at Yale New Haven Health/Smilow Cancer Center for 25 years. She treated her patients with the utmost care and compassion until later in her life, when she had to fight her own battle with cancer.

Stephanie was a selfless and kindhearted person to anyone who knew her. She was a beautiful person inside and out, with an infectious smile that lit up the room. When she wasn’t working, she enjoyed entertaining family and friends, cooking, gardening, boating, and traveling. However, her greatest accomplishment in life was being able to raise her two boys and watch them grow up to be mature young men.

Relatives and friends are invited to a Mass of Christian burial on Sept. 20 in St. John Bosco Parish at St. Mary Church, 731 Main Street, Branford. Burial to follow in St. Agnes Cemetery. There were no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to a CHET 529 Fund that has been set up for the boys c/o Terri Passante, email terripassante@comcast.net.

See www.wsclancy.com for online memorial and directions.