-
Nicholas Petra Fatse
1931 – 2026
Nicholas P. Fatse fell asleep in the Lord peacefully at the age of 94 on January 3, 2026, concluding a lifetime well lived—filled beyond measure with the gifts he cited as life’s greatest treasures: love, health, and happiness.
Nick was born in North Grosvenordale, Connecticut, on January 27, 1931, to Petra and Olimbia (Vanghel) Fatse. After his happy early childhood there, his family moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where Nick attended Elias Howe Elementary and Bassick High School before earning a degree in accounting from the University of Bridgeport.
When Nick told stories of his childhood, the intensity of his memories and the happiness they brought him belied his family’s humble beginnings as immigrants from Korçë, Albania. He displayed lifelong pride in his competitive marble-skipping and baseball-card-flipping abilities, his youthful days at Seaside Park, Went Field, and the West Side YMCA, and his early jobs as a newsboy, shoe salesman, waiter, and assistant in his father’s barbershop.
Nick met his wife of seventy-two years, the beautiful Elsie Chiacu, at a wedding in 1951. He was immediately smitten, and she was immediately dazzled, and he quickly resolved to win her heart. Elsie, however, was wise beyond her sixteen years, so a three-year courtship followed until they were married in 1954 at St. Dimitrie Romanian Orthodox Church, then located down the street from his childhood home on Lee Avenue in Bridgeport. They remained in Bridgeport for the births of three of their children before moving to Trumbull in 1963, where their youngest was born. They lived in Trumbull until relocating to Southbury, Connecticut, in 2021.
After serving honorably in the United States Air Force, Nick founded Fabco, Inc. with his brother George in the mid-1950s. He loved the double entendre: “fabulous” plus the acronym for the Fatse Brothers Company. Together, they built an enterprise well respected throughout the state for its high-quality print products and superlative commitment to customer service. Nick’s quick mind, coupled with his uncanny ability to connect with people through his trademark generosity and humor, formed the basis of an eager entrepreneurial spirit. That spirit inspired many business acquaintances who became his friends and earned him the loyalty and affection of countless employees.
Nick never shirked a day’s work and believed happiness was achieved through a combination of cheerful industriousness and willing service. As a young husband and father, he ran for public office, representing his West Side district on the Bridgeport City Council. Later, his pride in his Aromanian heritage showed through his lifelong membership—and frequent leadership roles as officer and director—in the Aromanian Society Farsarotu, which awarded him a lifetime achievement award in 2003. Nick was also inspired by the goals of Junior Achievement and spent many hours volunteering as a business advisor. He was a genial pushover for anyone who asked him to donate free print products for a good cause.
Nick and his brother George gave generously throughout their working lives to their beloved St. Dimitrie Orthodox Church. Service to his church was one of Nick’s great passions—from his early days as an altar server alongside his lifelong best friend, James Cashavelly, through decades as a member and officer of the Parish Council, and as one of the visionaries who founded and funded the parish’s Endowment Fund in the 1970s. Their industrious work ethic enabled Nick and George each to pledge $10,000 toward the Endowment Fund upon its inception in 1980—a remarkable achievement for two first-generation, self-made family men still in their forties.
Nick loved parish community life. He and Elsie never missed a dance or festive banquet, and together they were instrumental in helping to launch a parish-wide initiative in the 1980s that became a cherished community-building and fundraising tradition: the weekly Friday Fish Fry. He loved volunteering at the annual parish festivals alongside Elsie, relatives, and friends, and for many years enjoyed coaching the parish basketball team in the CEOBL league.
Nick was a tender, attentive, and loving father and grandfather. Always quick with encouragement, advice, and unexpected gifts, he nevertheless avoided the helicopter-parent syndrome. He delighted in thinking through his children’s challenges with them—whether a school science project, a student council election, or a sticky issue with school administration. He loved to joke to his grandchildren in Newtown that if he put his car in park in his Trumbull driveway, it would somehow magically and independently find its way to them. One of the things that made Nick so happy was having family and friends gather around the table for a meal filled with love and laughter. There was always room for more and plenty to go around.
Nick believed deeply that well-chosen words can change lives. His schoolboy hobby of collecting phrases and sentences he believed had the power to change hearts and minds blossomed into a lifelong habit of recording them in dozens of notebooks and countless lined pads, all in his meticulous handwriting. He called them his W.O.W.s—Words of Wisdom—and, true to his abundant generosity, he became famous for sharing his WOWs, delivering them with trademark humor at every appropriate turn.
Nick’s passion for life also shone through his hobbies. He was an avid coin collector and a loyal fan of the UConn women’s basketball team and the New York Knicks during their golden age in the 1970s. He loved watching any sporting event on television whenever his son Michael was at his side to cheer on the team of the day. Nick treasured quiet hours fishing along the rivers and lakes of Connecticut and found deep satisfaction fishing with Michael, his father-in-law Leo, brother-in-law Tom Lambro, and many friends. Never afraid to venture into uncharted waters, Nick also loved picnicking with Elsie and their children aboard a modest wooden motorboat that he outfitted with a gloriously oversized engine.
In addition to his wife Elsie, Nick is survived by his daughter Joanne Davis of Newtown, her husband Rev. Thomas Davis, and their children Thomas Gregory, Julia, and Sophia; his son Michael Fatse of Newtown, his wife Sheryl, and their children Rachel Lynch (husband Daniel) and Nicholas (fiancée Ashley Williams); his daughter Laurie Doty of Oswego, New York, her husband Steve, and their daughters Meghan Mahoney (husband Tim) and Jillian Darling (husband Jordan); and his daughter Andrea Brosnan of Newtown, her husband Kerry, and their children Olivia and Leo. Nick and Elsie were proud great-grandparents of Amelia (“Millie”) and Shay Lynch, Olin and Kieran Mahoney, and Maddox and Chloe Darling.Nick also leaves his brother George P. Fatse and his wife Fevronia of Easton; his sisters-in-law Diane Lambro and Barbara Russo; his beloved cousins George Fatsy and his wife Audrey; and Spiro (“Pete”) Fatsy, along with numerous nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews. He was predeceased by his parents; his father-in-law Milia (“Leo”) Chiacu and his mother-in-law Aspasia Stilu Chiacu, both of whom he loved deeply; his brother Atanase Fatse and sister-in-law Sylvia Fatse; his sister-in-law Mary Lowe and her husband Gerald; his brothers-in-law Thomas Lambro and William Russo; and his longtime friend and godson Morton (“Matthew”) Gelfand.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, January 9, 2026, at St. Dimitrie Orthodox Church, 504 Sport Hill Road, Easton, Connecticut, with calling hours at 10:30 a.m., followed by a funeral service at 11:30 a.m. Burial will follow immediately at Lakeview Cemetery in Bridgeport, with full military honors.
Arrangements are in the care of the Frank Polke and Son Funeral Home (www.frankpolkeandsonfuneralhome.com). Memorial contributions may be made to St. Dimitrie Romanian Orthodox Church (stdimitrieeaston.org), Honor Flight (https://www.honorflight.org), or the Society Farsarotu (https://farsharotu.org). The family is deeply grateful to the staffs of Monarch by Motif and Stonebridge for the tenderness, patience, and quiet compassion they showed Nicholas each day, and for the comfort and reassurance they gave to Elsie and the entire family during a profoundly tender season.
Nick’s family is proud to share his philosophy of life with all who may not have heard him offer it personally: “Give of yourself each and every day, and what will come back is a gift from God.”
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Nicholas Petra Fatse, please visit our flower store.
-
This discussion was modified 20 hours, 19 minutes ago by
elissa mondschein.
-
This discussion was modified 20 hours, 19 minutes ago by
-
0 Replies
Sorry, there were no replies found.
Log in to reply.