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Visitation:
Saturday, March 5, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. (prior to
the service) at Holy Family Catholic Church in
Lincoln
Service:
11 a.m. Saturday March 5, at the church
Funeral home:
Fricke-Calvert-Schrader, Lincoln
Mount Pulaski
Obituary
Roberta Margaret “Bobbie” Connolley, 87, born June
28, 1928 – beloved mother, sister, aunt and
grandmother, passed away on February 23, 2016, at
Brentwood Assisted Living in Hobart, Indiana in the
peaceful presence of her daughters.
Surviving are daughters Maureen Connolley, Chicago;
Angela (Stephen) Miller, Charlotte, NC; Mary (Tom)
Quirk. Highland Park and Liz Connolley, Gary, IN;
sister Janet Holtzman Beattie, Chicago; brother
Father Jerome Holtzman, Watertown, SD; grandchildren
Claire Miller, Drew (Danielle) Miller, Charlie,
Grace and Tommy Quirk, and many nieces, nephews and
cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents,
Victor Henry Holtzman and Ella Agnes Brady Holtzman,
husband Richard Roman Connolley, and her sister Mary
Kathryn Holtzman Kanies.
Bobbie was a sweetheart with a happy demeanor and a
fun sense of humor – we called her our “little
darling”. After she suffered a stroke in 2010 and
lost the ability to speak, she could say so much
through her beautiful expressive face. She was
always blowing kisses.
Bobbie lived an amazing life. She was born on the
plains of South Dakota in Highmore. After she
graduated Salutatorian from Highmore High School in
1946, she went on to attend Mount Marty College in
Yankton, SD for two years. After that she taught
fourth grade at the Lincoln School in Pierre, SD. In
1950, she moved to Aberdeen, SD and attended
Northern State University. After this, Bobbie moved
to Elgin, where she taught first grade at Lincoln
Grammar School from 1951-1953.
Fun fact: every school at which she ever taught was
named “Lincoln”.
Elgin is also where she met her future husband,
Richard Connolley, who was then athletic director
and assistant principal at Burlington High School.
(He later went on to be principal and then
superintendent at West Lincoln School in Lincoln
from 1961-1986). They married on June 8, 1953 at St.
Joseph's Church in Elgin. They moved to Princeton,
IL in 1957. She and Dick had four daughters and
moved to Lincoln in 1961.
She obtained a BA degree in English at ISU in 1965
and a master’s degree as Reading Specialist also
from ISU in 1972. She taught at Lincoln Community
High School and worked there for 26 years. She will
be fondly remembered for her Reading for
Comprehension courses. She was a Title I English
teacher until 1994. She also taught English as a
second language to Vietnamese students. After
retiring, she tutored English from 1994-2005. |
Bobbie travelled extensively with family and friends
all over the world – Italy, France, Turkey, Greece,
Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland,
Norway, Sweden, Spain, Alaska, and all over the
continental United States -- including Vandalia,
Illinois, on the great “Tour of Former Illinois
Capitols” trip that Dick Connolley cooked up.
She was known to have energy that had no bounds and
loved to keep busy. She was in several book clubs as
she loved to read. She also loved to listen to
classical music and loved going to plays and
concerts. She loved to take long walks and was known
to be seen about the neighborhood on her daily
strolls. They invigorated her and kept her healthy.
Bobbie’s faith was also very important to her. She
was very proud that her brother was a Catholic
priest, and she was a Eucharistic minister at Holy
Family Church in Lincoln for many years. She was
extraordinarily happy when we were able to take her
to mass at the beautiful Nativity of Our Savior
Church in Portage, Indiana. She made many special
friends there as well.
After her stroke, she moved to Indiana so that her
family could take care of her. It has been a wonder
and a privilege to spend the last several years
seeing Bobbie every day and seeing her sweet smile.
Thank you God for letting us take care of Bobbie for
you. Thank you, Bobbie, for loving us. We will
always love you.
In lieu of flowers, contributions would be
appreciated to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese
of Chicago, 721 N LaSalle Street, Attention:
Development, Chicago, IL 60654.
A Memorial Mass for Bobbie will be held on Saturday
March 5, 2016 at Holy Family Catholic Church.
Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
(prior to the service). Burial to follow at Holy
Cross Cemetery in Lincoln.
Bobbies care has been entrusted to
Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home, Lincoln.
Click here to send a note of condolence to the family of Roberta
Margaret “Bobbie” Connolley
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Roberta
Margaret “Bobbie” Connolley