Monte Connolly

Monte Dwaine Connolly Monte Dwaine Connolly, 70, of Gering, passed away Friday, June 17, 2022, at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. His memorial service will be held at 11am on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Hampton Inn Conference Center with Pastor Rick Reisig officiating. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery in Scottsbluff with Military Honors rendered by the United States Navy, and the Gering American Legion Post #36. It is respectfully requested that in lieu of flowers, memorials in Monte's honor be made to his family and designations will be made at a later date. Online condolences may be made by viewing Monte's memorial page at www.bridgmanfuneralhome.com. Bridgman Family Funeral Home in Scottsbluff is entrusted with arrangements. Monte proudly served his country in the United State Navy. He served three years active duty with the Mobile Construction Battalion 62 of the Navy Seabees during the Vietnam war. Following an honorable discharge, he returned to Scottsbluff and began a 23-year career as a firefighter with the City of Scottsbluff Fire Department reaching the rank of Lieutenant. He also served as interim Fire Chief prior to medically retiring. He began his second career as a Corrections Officer with the Scottsbluff County Jail where he served 15 years and ran the Trustees Work Detail Program. In 1974, Monte married Valerie Taylor and from this union he had two daughters, Tina, and Jill. As a father, Monte put in many volunteer hours as a coach for girls' basketball and softball. He could be seen cheering from the stands for every junior high and high school game he could. As he became a grandparent to six grandchildren and one great-grandchild, he continued to cheer on all their achievements. After his marriage dissolved, Monte was blessed to have Judy Hernandez enter his life who spent many years loving and taking care of him until the end. They enjoyed watching Husker football and volleyball games. In his free time Monte enjoyed restoring cars and auctioneering for antiques with his beloved brother-in-law, Leroy. He was an avid lover of dogs and cats and enjoyed running his dogs in the country on his Mule. He was a strong advocate for veterans and was a member of the VFW where he volunteered many hours. He was very proud of his involvement with the Veteran's Day Parade and had many Seabees friends march in the parade with him each November. Monte is survived by his girlfriend, Judy; his sister, Opal Knaub; his daughters: Tina (Kevin) Little and Jill (Brian) Lange; three granddaughters: Marisa (Brandon) Rogers, Taylor and Teagan Little; three grandsons: Mikal, Jaksyn, and Kage Lange; and one great-grandson, Wesson Rogers; multiple nieces and nephews and his dog Kookie and cat Dozer. He was preceded in death by his parents Paul and Lena Connolly; brother, Robert Connolly; sisters: Florence Fries and Patricia Kling; brother-in-law, Leroy Knaub; and nieces: Diana and Melissa McKnight.