SERENSON, ROBERT L. “BOB”

Robert L. “Bob” Serenson 54, of West Haven beloved husband of Angela DiMaria Serenson passed away unexpectedly on July 14, 2020 in Yale New Haven Hospital. Loving father of Brendan and Skylar Serenson both of West Haven. Bob was born in New Haven on January 14, 1966 son of Patricia (Michael) Bilotti of West Haven and the late Louis (Cynthia) Serenson. Brother to Louis (Marisa) Serenson of Northford, Cindi (Ralph) Anastasio of North Branford and Michael (Christina) Bilotti Jr. of Watertown. Son-in-law to Salvatore and Luisa DiMaria. Brother-in-law to Debra (Tim) Boynton and Paolo (Erin) DiMaria. He is survived by several nieces and nephews, great-nieces, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Grandson of the late to Anthony and Helen Leone. Bob’s love for his wife of thirty years and his kids, Brendan and Skylar, were his life. He loved his family time, whether hanging out at the house or watching Brendan and Skylar playing their sports. He enjoyed all of it. He always made time to get together with his brother and sister so they had quality time. Bob and his brother Louie had a very special bond. Always there for each other since childhood. He loved his nieces and nephews and was always a part of their lives. As a son, he always made sure his mom was taken care of. Always surprising her, such as flying to Florida, showing up at her hotel to take her out to dinner for her birthday, and upgrading her room so she would have a view of the water. He was also a wonderful son-in-law and brother-in-law. He loved and worried about them always. He loved having parties at his home as he always hosted July 4th and Christmas Eve with as many as 100 people or more. He loved being surrounded by family. Everything he did was out of love for family and friends. He is the one who made us take all our family pictures at every gathering, planned any event for our family to be together, helped anyone he could, was an ear to listen and a voice to reason. He was also the one to never hold back his opinion and was the king of sarcasm. He never missed an opportunity to live everyday as it was his last. He would always encourage adventure because he would say, “tomorrow is never promised.” His love of family, hockey, and travel was infectious to all lives he crossed. Bob was most proud of his family and friends, and a close second was his passion for the game of hockey. For those who knew about Bob, you understood his tremendous skills as a goaltender, but when he started out in hockey, he was a forward. In fact, in his words he was a prolific goal scorer and won the scoring title in youth hockey. He soon was asked to put on the goalie equipment and that is where he thrived! He played youth hockey in West Haven where after his playing days were complete, he gave back to West Haven Youth Hockey by staying involved for 12 years where he held positions such as board member, coach, and the president of the league. Bob played his high school hockey at West Haven High School from 1981-1984. In 1984, he was an integral part of winning the CIAC Division 1 State Championship. In that year, Bob was awarded one #1 Team All District, #1 Team All State and tournament MVP. In 2010, Bob was inducted into the West Haven High School Hall of Fame. One of Bob’s proudest moments was to see his son Brendan become an All State Goaltender in his senior year. He loved to see the banner hanging in the rink with Bob and Brendan’s name on it. Bob went onto college, where he earned a BS, in Business Administration from Quinnipiac College (now Quinnipiac University). He continued playing hockey where he was a 4-year starting goaltender, earned ECAC Player of the Year honors and lead the team to the ECAC South finals. He was later elected as one of the Tri-Captains in his senior year. In 1993, Bob was inducted into the Quinnipiac Athletic Hall of Fame. After graduating from Quinnipiac, Bob was also offered a free agent tryout with the New York Rangers.Bob’s passion for the game and willingness to give back lead him to start his All-Area Goalie School and helped develop and operate a non-profit, Do It Right, Inc., which provided hockey camps and scholarships to hockey players in the Connecticut area. Bob had a 35-year career working in the specialized area of loss prevention and safety with many of the leading retail brands in the world. His leadership positions included companies such as Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, Duane Reade, Babies R Us, and Checkpoint Systems. He was recognized as a leader in the industry and he was most proud of developing and mentoring others who went on to their own success. There are no reasonable amount of words to encompass how much our hearts ache and how much he will be missed. But as a family, we promise to never take another day for granted and will always choose to celebrate life to honor Bob. Relatives and friends may call at the PORTO FUNERAL HOME, 830 Jones Hill Rd., West Haven SUNDAY from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Serenson Children Education Fund: gf.me/u/ygtiqf. Sign Bob’s guest book online at

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