Carla (Dawson) Roselli

Carla Roselli, 73, of Colchester, CT, passed away on Thursday, February 5, 2026, after a year-long battle with multiple health conditions. Despite a tremendous effort to stay with us, Carla died peacefully, surrounded by her loving family at William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, CT. She leaves behind her husband of 53 years: Joseph Roselli; her adult children: Christopher Roselli and Carina Roselli-Tedeschi; and her siblings: Wendy Dawson and David Dawson. She also leaves behind hundreds of students and colleagues who grew to know and love her during her 23 years of public service, teaching Animal Science and Food Science in the agricultural education department at Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford, CT, where she also served as the school's FFA Advisor, mentoring students in agricultural leadership and career development.  

Carla had a lifelong love of animals and agriculture. She was an avid 4H exhibitor in her youth, earned her associate's degree from Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School of Massachusetts, owned and competed her several horses as a young woman, and raised and showed dairy goats for more than 40 years. She and Joseph maintained their hobby farm—Timberdoodle Farm—together from the beginning, creating a wonderful environment in which to also raise their children. Carla went on to earn her bachelor's degree from the University of New Hampshire and her master's degree from Southern Connecticut State University so that she could teach and share her love of animals and agriculture with generations of students.

Per Carla’s wishes, her family is hosting a garden memorial service in the spring at Prospect Memorial/The Palmerie Family Funeral Home to honor and celebrate her life and the immeasurable impact she made on this world. All who knew and loved Carla are invited to join us on the afternoon of Saturday, June 6, 2026. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Carla's favorite charity: Wildlife SOS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (wildlifesos.org / EIN 20-3274638) dedicated to rescuing, treating, and caring for elephants exploited in the abusive tourism and “begging elephant” industries in India. 

 Prospect Memorial/The Palmerie Family Funeral Home is honored to care for Carla and assist her family during their grief journey. Please leave your condolences, memories, and photos of Carla for her family on her Tribute Wall on this page. 

Services will be in our Serenity Garden in the Spring

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Carla (Dawson) Roselli, please visit our floral store.