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William Connolly Obituary
April 19, 1943 - Oct. 27, 2017
Resident of St. Helena
On the sunny, late afternoon of October 27th, 2017 with his loving wife at his side, William J. Connolly, Jr., 74, passed away after suffering a fall in their home.
Loving son of William J. Connolly, Sr., and the former Kathleen Warnock, "Willy" was preceded death by his parents, and his sister Jane Vanreusel. He is survived by wife Pam; children: Scooter, Jon, Brent, Drew, and Shannon; eight grandchildren: Tyler, Eli, Quin, Cade, Kylie, Christian, Lauren, and Grant; his beloved dog Bella, and faithful cat Spooky.
Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Willy later moved with the family to California where he quickly discovered his athletic ability. A standout athlete and proud graduate of Bellarmine College Prep, he was awarded a baseball/basketball scholarship to Santa Clara University. His athletic career concluded as a second baseman in the Minnesota Twins farm system. Deservingly, he is a Hall of Fame member at both, Bellarmine Prep and Santa Clara University.
Willy's competitive spirit was a perfect trait for an investment banker on Wall Street. From the grass of the baseball diamond to the concrete jungle, he quickly learned the ropes, and realized brilliant success. He was offered a partnership with Robertson, Stephens, a San Francisco based firm focused on technology stocks and IPO's. This brought Willy back to the Bay Area where, in 1987, he married Pam and immediately shared parenting duties in their Danville home.
Retirement allowed Bill time to pursue his passions of cooking, wine, 14th century furniture, art and reading in the dream house he and Pam built in St. Helena. He tended to the vineyard proudly, cultivating and producing a Zinfandel aptly named, Connolly Family Vineyards.
Among his life-achievements, philanthropy, and success, Willy showed great love for mentoring youth in the Napa Valley area. His coaching, leadership, and example led him to become Executive Board President for Prolific Prep, a non-profit organization for gifted young athletes. His generosity of spirit, natural curiosity and enthusiasm through his life set an example for all that knew him.
In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to The Bill Connolly Memorial Foundation. The address is 1223 Seghesio Way, Windsor California 94592. www.prolificprep.org.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Santa Clara Mission on the Santa Clara University Campus, November 17th, 2017 at 2 PM. Reception will follow in the Locatelli Center on campus.
Memories and notes of sympathy may be shared at claffeyandrota.com.
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Memories and Condolences
for William Connolly
Sponsored by San Jose Mercury News.
3 Entries
Anhony Murabito
November 14, 2017
Willie was such a nice and warm man, he was a great neighbor and we are going to miss him a lot at the beach.
Marty Shenk
November 13, 2017
I remember Bill's dad was the coach of our St. Charles baseball team and Bill was a star player. In about the fourth or fifth grade I had the not so enviable task of boxing him when his scheduled opponent got sick and they needed a replacement. I think I lasted all three rounds but it was a real struggle. Bill had very quick hands. I attended Bellermine with him for two years as an SP commuter from San Carlos. I left after my sophomore year and haven't seen or heard about him since then. He was always a good athlete, very competitive, and it sounds like he grew up to be a fine fellow. Those Notre Dame nuns who were our teachers really did a fine job with all of us.
Barbara Caliva
November 8, 2017
As a young high school graduate of Mercy High School, I worked
for William J. Connolly Sr. at Connolly & Farbstein in 1956. William Jr. does resemble his father. I remember my first job as a legal secretary fondly.
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