Joy CONNOLLY

CONNOLLY, Joy 78, died Wednesday, April 10, 2013, in St. Petersburg. Her quiet last years contrasted with her earlier life on the go: raising chickens as a teen, being crowned the May Day Queen in high school, teaching for decades at Westgate Elementary as one of the first kindergarten teachers in Pinellas County, and, most proudly, raising three children on her own. She was strong and independent and intuitive and insightful. She liked a glass of wine in the evening, aerobics classes in mid-life, going to mass twice a week, and most of all the company of her family. A native of Newark, NJ, she was born Nancy Joy McCaffrey and moved to St. Petersburg in 1945. She graduated from St. Paul's High School and the University of Florida. In retirement she worked and volunteered at the Coliseum, Tropicana Field and Mahaffey Theater, traveled with her sister, went for daily walks, and was happy indeed. Her grandchildren all fondly remember her love of books and reading to them. She was predeceased by her parents, John J. and Rose L. McCaffrey; her brother, John McCaffrey Jr.; and her cherished sister, Janet McCaffrey. She is survived by her three children, Patrick (Diane) of Nashville, Erin (Steve) Wallace of Orlando, and Brian (Angela), also of Orlando; seven grandchildren, Meaghan, Brendan and Griffin Connolly, Shea and Molly Wallace, and Teaghan and Kieran Connolly; her sister-in-law, Ellen McCaffrey of Jacksonville; and four nephews and a niece. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, a contribution be made to the American Heart Association. A memorial mass will be held at 9:30 am, Saturday in the chapel of the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, followed by interment at Memorial Park Cemetery and a reception at the Tradewinds Resort in St. Peter Beach. Anderson-McQueen Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.