Constance Kay Fenske

Constance Kay Fenske, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and nurse, passed away on July 17, 2025, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 82. Born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 4, 1943, Constance lived a life full of color, compassion, and just the right amount of mischief.

As a child, she grew up in Old Town Chicago where her grandfather sold newspapers on Wells Street. Connie attended Greek Orthodox school and later graduated from Senn High School. In her teenage years, she enjoyed performing at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as a supernumerary. She also acted as a matchmaker between her Mother, Bertha Erlich and her adoptive Father, Sol Erlich. Her children have fond memories of her exercising her vocals around the house. While in high school she also attended classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, pursuing her love of painting and fashion. Her path would ultimately lead her to another kind of artistry: caring for others. After marrying Alfred Fenske, the couple moved to Nevada, Missouri, in 1972, where they raised their four children and built a life full of community, friendship, laughter, and chaos (the good kind). Constance was a scout leader and a fierce ad vacate for her children.

She worked at Heartland Hospital in Nevada, Missouri, as a youth mental health worker and, in her forties, went to college to become a registered nurse. Her career as an adolescent psychiatric nurse spanned decades and states. After her divorce, she moved from Missouri and continued to care for adolescents in Illinois and California - culminating in her retirement from Loma Linda in Redlands at age 70. She had the ability to reach and connect with adolescents who had suffered trauma. Her love for young people and her ability to comfort them as they struggled to recover made her know as "Grandma Connie" on the units where she worked. She was known for her big smile, deep dimples, and the ability to be goofy enough to make the most reluctant teenager crack a grin. She would use humor to promote emotional release, reintroduce a sense of agency and influence over one's emotional state, and challenge negative thinking patterns.

She is survived by her four children: Milton (Samantha), Harry (Leticia), Karl (Attica Locke), and Catherine (Daniel Covington). She also leaves behind eight grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and countless people whose lives she touched with her humor, heart, and homemade Greek cookies.

Constance had a big presence and an even bigger personality. Her sense of humor evolved over the years into something delightfully cheeky. She could make a joke out of almost anything, often dropping phrases in Greek, Yiddish, and pure nonsense into her conversation. She loved word puzzles, nature documentaries, Craig Ferguson, TV series the Monk,Court TV, scary movies hosted by Svengoolie and the Son of Svengoolie, and Alastair Sim's Scrooge. Her idea of a great night out was a meal with her family, a good steak, a wedge salad with Roquefort dressing, a baked potato and a couple vodka martinis.

She will be remembered for her unbounded love, her generosity, her unfiltered wit, and the way she made everyone feel like they were part of her story.

A private family celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages you to donate to a youth mental health organization in honor of Connie at https:i/jedfoundationinmemoriam..crowdchange.co/50509 or https://support.activeminds.org/fondraiser/65491 74.