Stephen M. Connolly

Stephen Matthew Connolly passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends on December 1, 2024. He fought over a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.
He was one of seven children of Catherine T. Connolly and Patrick J. Connolly, born on October 5th, 1957 in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Towson High School, where he played lacrosse and was Captain of the football team. After high school, Steve enlisted in the Air Force and worked as a mechanic. He cherished his time stationed in South Korea- he loved the food and enjoyed taking his family to Korean BBQ later in life. He met his wife, Martha, in 1979 at a Towson restaurant through a cousin. It was love at first sight. They were married for over 43 years.
After he enlisted in the Air Force, he started as a Manager at Speedy Muffler, working his way up to Regional Manager and then to District Manager. His entrepreneurial spirit guided him to open his own business in 1994; Environmental Automotive and Severna Park Auto Body in Millersville have been operating for 30+ years. In 2014, Steve opened Auto Collision & Repair in Georgetown, Delaware. All of these businesses have been a success. This showed in his determination to work through his illness. Through his businesses, he gave back to the community.
Outside of work, Steve enjoyed spending time riding many miles on his bike. This was his true passion. His favorite place to ride was at the Delaware beaches. When the weather was not cooperative, you would often find him on his Peloton bike. He loved listening to music, attending concerts with friends and family, and keeping up with his record collection along with his son. Steve and Martha loved going to the beach and enjoying the activities there. Steve loved the ocean, fishing and crabbing and going out on his small boat. Steve always enjoyed the restaurants wherever he went. He loved to talk about food and typically pointed out every restaurant along any route. Aruba and Curacao were Steve and Martha's happy places and the time spent in these places were very special to them, including accomplishing a goal of climbing one of the mountains together. Steve was an avid Ravens, Orioles, Nascar, and Washington Capitals fan, and enjoyed watching his children play sports as they grew up. Steve was one of a kind- he was determined, showed great courage and strength, had a sense of humor, he was always there to help and treated others with respect. He will be missed.
He is preceded in death by his mother and father, Catherine and Patrick, as well as brothers Harry T. Connolly, Patrick J. Connolly, and Edward T. Connolly. He is also preceded in death by his dogs Jake, Waddles, and Max.
Steve is survived by his sisters MaryPat Smith (Phil) and Terri Rackliff (Jeff), and brother, Brian Connolly (Roxanne) as well as his wife, Martha, his children, Caitlin Downey (Nathan) and Scott Connolly, and grandchildren, Gavin Stephens and Owen Downey. He is also survived by a host of nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, cousins and his dog Pearl.
A Visitation will be held at Hardesty Funeral home, located at 12 Ridgely Ave, Annapolis, MD 21401 on Friday, January 17th, 5:00pm to 7:00pm.
There will be a Church service at Bay Area Community Church at 884 Chesterfield Rd, Annapolis, MD 21401 on January 18th at 11:00am immediately followed by a reception.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in honor of Steve may be made to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network at PanCAN (Pancreatic Cancer Action Network).org/donate, or through the mail at 2101 Rosecrans Ave, Suite 3200, El Segundo, CA 90245.