Mark Allen Wilzen, 55, of New Britain, Conn., died Friday after a long courageous battle with compli-cations from diabetes. Born in Jamestown, N.Y., the son of the late Carl and Carol Wilzen, he lived in New Britain for 36 years. He was a self taught computer pro-grammer and worked at Ad-vance Software LLC in Willington with his friend and employer, Rick Baker. He held a Mechanics Certificate, was an avid motor-cycle rider and lifetime member of the American Motorcycle Association, a former member of APICS, an avid bowler, a fan of the Buffalo Bills and well known as a cat lover. Prior to working at Advance Software, LLC, he was em-ployed for 20 yeas at the Hitchcock Chair Company.
Mark is survived by his loving wife of 34 years, Andrea (Smouse) Wilzen, whom he married on April 8, 1978; his sister, Rebecca Wilzen of New Britain; his mother-in-law, Ruth Smouse of Blockville, N.Y.; his brother-in-law, Steve and his wife, Chris Smouse of Lakewood, N.Y.; his sister-in-law, Glenna Catanese of Jamestown, N.Y.; brother-in-law, Dan Smouse of Blockville, N.Y.; brother-in-law, Jack Overbeck of Trenton, Ill.; his nieces and nephews: Kandi and her husband, Nelson Torres; Brandy and her husband, Justin Hudgins; Tami and her hus-band, Chris Russell; Michael and his wife, Shel-ly Chase; Jill and her husband, Billy Pavlock; Jackie and her husband, Tom Summerville; Andrea and her husband, Darren Free-man; Becky Smouse, Dus-tin Smouse and Jordan Smouse; and his cats, Cinnamon and Willow. He was predeceased by his brother, Eugene; father-in-law, Glenn Smouse; and sister-in-law, Lori Over-beck.
Mark will always be remembered as a generous and courageous individual. He was always a fighter despite huge health chal-lenges over the past 10 years. His laid back and op-timistic personality and sense of humor got him through many hard times.
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There will be no funeral services. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Connecticut Humane Society, 701 Russell Road Newington, CT 06111. To light a candle or send a condolence, please visit www.FarrellFuneralHome. com.