Brian Connolly

I wanted to let you know that my beloved husband of 56 years, Brian Connolly, died on May 6th just 5 days shy of his 84th birthday. We said "goodbye" to him at home where he was surrounded by his family.
His active life ended still too soon after a diagnosis of an aggressive Esophageal cancer. We had just come home from our winter stay in Flagler Beach, Florida, where he still walked 3-4 miles almost everyday along the ocean on A1A - and enjoyed a fun, supportive group of friends for many years.
Brian was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to his parents Elizabeth (Lilly) née Crawford and James (Jimmy) Connolly (both deceased). He is remembered by his brother, Raymond Connolly, his wife, Marie and their two adult children (Bristol, England). He came to the United States in 1964 and volunteered for the Draft and spent 2 years in the Army as a Spec 4 during the Vietnam Era.
After coming back to the Main Line area of Philadelphia, he met me, A Dutch girl, born in Amsterdam and here for a year to explore the US before starting a teaching career. He always said, it was love at first sight! Brian was an avid runner since running cross country as a young boy in Belfast and ran many marathons, ½ marathons and other distances until he ruptured his Achilles when he was 75 years old.
His other passion was soccer as he was a lifelong Manchester United fan! But, his full dedication was to me and our 4 amazing children with their many activities: soccer, swimming, choir and marching band. He enjoyed summers at our cottage in Ocean City, NJ where he loved to run and to walk many miles on the boardwalk as well as attending and cheering-on his children at swim meets and soccer tournaments.
He was an electrician by trade as a young lad in Belfast, studied Electronics at Camden County College in NJ and eventually worked as an Industrial Electrician at a number of companies in the local area; for example, GE, the Budd Company, Campbell's Soup and the Philadelphia Navy Yard which were all closing in those days. After retirement, we moved from Pennsauken, NJ to Souhtampton, NJ; specifically, LeisureTowne, a 55 plus community, where we enjoyed a good life. He loved gardening, walking and taking over many household tasks, since he liked to keep busy.
We will miss him terribly. He was an amazing, loving and supportive father of 4 children, grandfather of 6 grandchildren and 4 grand dogs. He is remembered by his two daughters: Michelle J. Connolly, married to Jason Bright, and their two daughters, Adalin and Payton, (Sausalito, CA) and Monique E. Stone and her three children, Sarah, Aidan and Lauren (Mt. Laurel, NJ). His two sons, Mark H. Connolly who is engaged to Jessica Sykes and their 3 rescue dogs (Rosenhayn, NJ) and Kevin J. Connolly who is married to Jacqueline Gimbel and their son, Arlo, our youngest grandson (3 yrs old) whom he loved to play with (Germantown, PA). Along with sharing some Irish laughs with his brother-in-law, Bert Henning, whom we visited about a year ago in The Netherlands as well as traveled to Ireland for one last hurrah in his home county.
We loved to travel as we are adventurers at heart!
Hopefully, our great love for him and our memories of him will inspire us to explore life to the fullest just like Brian who savored every moment of his life.
The funeral will be private per his wishes at the BG William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown NJ on Tuesday May 13, 2025. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society. His partner in life and keeper of his enduring love, Grietie - Grietje J. Connolly-Henning. (www.BradleyStow.com)
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