James J. Connell, Jr. July 2021 Honor A Deceased Veteran

JAMES JOSEPH CONNELL, JR.
1951-2019

FAMILY HISTORY:
James “Jim” Joseph Connell Jr. was born on October 28, 1951 in Albany, New York to the late James Joseph Connell Sr. and Alice Merhige Connell. He was the brother of Deborah Connell Renfrew, Jean Connell Seney, Michael Patrick Connell Sr. and the late Amelia.

EDUCATION:
Jim attended Columbia High School, where he graduated with the class of 1971 with a Regents Diploma. After graduating from high school, he went on to attend SUNY at Morrisvile, where he graduated with the class of 1974 with a degree in journalism and photography, which were his passions.

HISTORY:
Jim enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on October 3, 1971, and served as a rifleman until October 3, 1977. He later joined the New York Army National Guard in 1981, where he was a photo journalist. Jim retired from the New York Army National Guard on November 1, 2011 with the rank of Staff Sergeant. He received at least 6 coins for exemplary service from both the Marine Corps and the New York Army National Guard.

PERSONAL:
On April 27, 1974, Jim married his wife, Gail Harwood Connell in Rensselaer, New York at the First United Methodist Church. He is the beloved father of Christopher, Dena, Michelle and James IV, and the beloved grandfather of Karlina, Cheyenne, Damian, Savannah, Breanna, Angelina, Alyssa, Kiley, Olivia. Logan, Abigail, and Casey whom he loved dearly.

WORK EXPERIENCE:
Throughout the years, Jim worked as a freelance photojournalist for many capital district newspapers, which included the Glens Falls Post-Star and the Amsterdam Recorder. During the mid- 1980’s, he was the managing editor and monthly publisher for the Albany-Colonie Yankees Double-A affiliate. During Jim’ semi-retirement years, he was a school bus driver for the city of Rensselaer for more than 3 years, and was a 3^rd base usher for the Philadelphia Phillies at their spring training site in Clearwater, Florida.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES/ORGANIZATIONS:
Jim was a proud historian and author of “A Lonely Battle Stance” regarding the Civil War. He was a member of the 125^th New York Volunteer Infantry and participated in reenactments of the Civil War. Jim enjoyed watching baseball games with his family as an avid NY Yankees fan, coaching little league and softball for his children and grandchildren, collecting baseball cards and memorabilia dating back to the 1930’s, gardening, his koi fish pond, was a classic car enthusiast and was an eclectic artist.

Sadly, on July 23, 2019 Jim passed away.