Gerald Connell

Middletown, - Gerald ?Jerry? Connell, 70, of 233 Tuckerman Avenue Middletown, died Wednesday, March 19, 2003 at Miriam Hospital Providence, RI.He was the husband of Kathleen Sullivan Connell, former Secretary of State of Rhode Island. Born in Newport, RI on June 15, 1932, he was the son of the late James J. Connell and Agnes Kelleher Connell.Mr. Connell served 17 months in Korea as Firsts Lieutenant in the Army Artillery Corps. He was a graduate of Rogers High School in 1951 and the University of Miami in 1955, where he played baseball as a walk-on pitcher. He played baseball in the Newport Sunset League where he pitched a no-hitter in 1958. He was a retired stock broker starting with Hornblower and Weeks in Providence and the Diamond Doorley firm. He was a member of the Viking Hotel Board of Directors, served on the Budget Commission for the Town of Middletown and was a former vice-chair of the Middletown Democratic Town Committee. He was a former commissioneer of the Rhode Island Recreational Building Authority. Mr. Connell was a past member of the Navy League, Rotary Club and an Honorary Kentucky Colonel. As one of the owners of the Travers Building on Bellevue Avenue he led the reconsstruction of its historic authenticity following the fire in 1972. Mr. Connell was an avid photographer and gardener. Besides his wife, he leaves a son Lawrence B. Connell, Lt. Col. US Army, Ft. Shafter, Hawaii, two daughters Margaret Kelleher ?Kelly? Connell and Kathleen M. Connell both of Middletown, RI, his brother Donn S. Connell and his grandson Kevin P. Legein.He was the brother of the late James T. Connell, for whom James Taylor Connell Highway was named, and the late Eugenia Connell Walsh. His funeral will be held on Saturday, March 22, 2003, at 8:00 AM from the Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport, with a Mass of Christian burial at 9:00 AM in St. Lucys Church, 909 West Main Road, Middletown. Burial will be private. Donations in his memory may be made to the American Red Cross, East Bay Chapter, 1015 Aquidneck Avenue, Middletown, RI 02842 or to the Middletown Rescue Wagon, C/O the Middletown Fire Department, Wyatt Road, Middletown, RI 02842.