We Miss Joe – Joe Connell Memorial

To my hero, my mentor, my teacher, my best friend, but most of all my dad: I love you so much and will never forget all you’ve done for me.

Our condolences..We send you soft hugs and prayers during this time..If you need anything do not hesitate to call….

well ididnt know him very well he moved away to vegas b4 culd get to know him altho i knew the family all the sisters n brothers….we are first cousins…. fom wat i knew of him he was a great guy back then was a very fun guy and funny too… my sincere gratitude and prayers to all the family…

My Dad’s Last Smoke

After a long day of hospital testing,
My dad lay in bed with only the thought of resting,
But before he could peacefully lay his head,
He had a task with obstacles he surely would dread,
My dad wanted a smoke more than ever,
But for this one he knew he had to be clever,
He waited for my mom to use the restroom and ran,
Like Obama he said to himself, “Yes I Can!”
Unfortunately he looked down and saw he was connected,
To all the machines the doctors put up so his ailments could be detected,
We will never know how he finally did it,
But somehow he unplugged himself and split,
My mother came back to an empty room,
And knew my dad was up to something like a witch on a broom,
She looked through the room in a frantic search,
But before she knew it security arrived in an active lurch,
She said to them, “What did he do now!?”
The security pointed and muttered, “No smoking, no way, no how.”
My mom gazed toward the window and saw my dad smoking,
She stood there and smiled as if my dad was joking,
The security muttered, “This is a non-smoking facility.”
My mom rolled her eyes and thought to herself, “Have some humility.”
Her husband Joe sat there finishing up his smoke,
But he soon finished and from his daydream he woke,
My dad was weak and had a hard time walking,
He wanted to make it back without too much talking,
Unfortunately he wasn’t mobile and was in over his head,
He began to look around for a hand to be led,
With no one to be found he lowered his head with much chagrin,
Only to look back up and see his beautiful wife Lynn,
They both smiled as she asked, “How’d you get here?”
He looked her in the eyes and joked, “Oh! I was looking for a beer.”
She asked no more questions and helped him back,
You see between my mother and father the love was never in lack,
My dad got that last smoke and was finally able to rest,
I am my father’s son, and for that I will forever be blessed.

Justin M. Connell

Yesterday was a sad but beautiful day for your family, you were so well respected and loved by your boys, wife, family & friends. You will forever be missed, and please give your family the strength over the next days, weeks, months and years.
And Justin your poem was awesome it was funny and brought tears to my eyes,I’m sure your dad absolutely loved it …xoxo =)

wow where do I start joe was a great man.He could always make me laugh.He was always the one to put others first.He will be missed and always in my heart.My prayers go out to your family.

My funniest memory of Uncle Joe is when he would tell me on thanksgiving that the turkey was really just a cat…but he said don’t worry cat taste just like chicken! I love you Uncle Joe.

Wow Justin, that poem is awesome. I have tears in my eyes. Your Dad was a truly one of a kind guy. Could NEVER be duplicated. Like I have said, my prayers go out to you and your family. <3

The one memory that keeps coming to mind was when I first started at the Ribbon Factory and at the time The Big Picture Co. was in the same building. My husband Jeff, Joe’s little brother, was coming to pick me up. Well I guess Jeff didn’t know how to get there so he called me for directions. I didn’t quite know myself because I allways rode with their mom. Joe just looked at me with a serious look on his face and said “Tell him to follow the damn planes in” (we were by the landing strip of the airport). We laughed so much, I’m laughing now it’s hard to write. To the best and funniest brother in law. I will miss you forever.

my brother joe was the best brother ever he always he was always there when i needed him was always a phone call away i will never forget you
i know you will always be by my side day or night to keep me safe i love you will miss you thanks for all that you taught me and for being my big brother you will be in my hart forever

The best memory I have is when I first started working at the Ribbon Factory. The Big Picture Co. was in the same building. My husband Jeff, Joe’s little brother, was picking me up after work. He could not find the place so he called me for directions. Well I didn’t know how to get there because I had just started and allways rode with their mom so I didn’t know what to tell him. Joe looked at me with a serious look and said “Tell him to follow the damn planes in” (we were by the airport runway at Patrick & Eastern). We laughed so hard, I’m laughing now so much I can hardly write this. He was the best & funniest brother in law that I will ever have and I will miss him forever!!!!!!!!!

We were all blessed by knowing Joe. He was a wonderful person. You can tell how much he was loved by all the love and kindness writen here.

We were all blessed by knowing Joe. He was a wonderful person. You can tell how much he was loved by all the love and kindness writen here.

As Joe’s aunt, I was honored to deliver a brief eulogy. Here is a portion of that eulogy: a thank you letter that I wrote to him.

Dear Joey,
Thank you for the gift of your life. Thank you for being the first one to launch me into this wonderful privilege of being an Auntie. When you were about six years old and I was old enough to babysit, thank you for running to me and telling me that baby brother Johnny had just drunk the glass of water that had your tadpoles in it! Thank you for being my father’s little carpenter protege–you let him mentor you, you made grandpa so proud, and you made a life using the skills you learned from him. How precious you were carrying around grandpa’s tools. And in recent years, thank you for your ever cheerful, positive attitude. Even when you were very ill, when I’d ask you how you were doing you ALWAYS said, “absolutely fantastic!”.
And thank you for making me a great-aunt. At first I sort of resented that because it made me sound sooo old, but your amazing sons Justin and Jared have made it so worthwhile.
And of course, thank you for bringing sweet Lynn into our lives and family. She is loved as you are and we will keep her close as I know you’d want us to. And thank you Joe for helping Lynn to put up with our family for ohhh so many years!
Thank you for your help when grandma was sick and for being so hospitable to me when I’d visit and stay at your home. I didn’t realize at the time what a gift from God that time together was.
You know I’m the auntie that can go on and on so I’ll stop soon, after just one more thing:
Joey, I know you get to see the face of God. While you are there could you please tell Him we all have questions– lots of questions? We are all trying to make sense of this and we are trying to understand his plan. We know he needed you in heaven– maybe there’s a big convention going on up there and He needed a big picture screen, or maybe he wanted a new condo–we are desperately seeking some explanation.
And could you please ask our Lord to shower your brokenhearted wife, sons, father, brothers and sisters with extra graces so they can feel his comfort and his love and have their faith strengthened.
Maybe we can take some comfort in knowing that you now have the answers. Not only do you have the answers but you have Peace. May the fact that you don’t question God’s plan and that you have found peace bring some peace and comfort to us all.
Thank you Joey for making the tapestry of our family stronger and more beautiful, because it was woven with Joey-threads that will remain forever.
Thank you in advance for being the best guardian angel ever-you’ve got a big family left down here, so you’ve got a big job ahead of you.
Oh, just one more thing, please say hello and give a big hug to Josephine, my sister, your mother, whom we miss terribly.
All my love,
Aunt Louise

Joe has gone to be with his mother and beloved grandma and grandpa. We dared to think that he would live to comb gray hair, and sit on the proverbial rocking chair with beloved Lynn by his side. But like his mother, he had every gift but length of years………..
God bless you Joey, we love you and always will.

To the Connell family: You have a wonderful family. I used to work for Joe’s parents back in Benton Harbor, MI in 1960’s. My brother Michael was married to Louise for 30 years. I know all the Connell’s exept the next generation. Joe was a good friend of my brother John DeRose as they were the same age. We didn’t see John since he left Calfornia but I have fond memories of him in that he represented the best of what this country and living life is all about. I remember his relationship with his grandfather Joe Source & the energy level Joe always had. I admired him then & know that his family meant everything to him. I know Lynn & appreciate their relationship & love for their children I never met. I know Joe had a special relationship with his kids. He was that type of person. He was good to everyone. I have met many people in my life but I can say that Joe had a special package that few people will ever know. I read Justin’s tribute to his dad & I see that Joe was the same person I remember, that do it his own way “kick ass” kind human being who valued all the right things like family & friends. Joe, you went before your time like my brother Jim, but may God hold you in His hand for eternity with your grandparents, Joe & Eva Source & may your family have peace for everything you did & meant to them. Your the best. Rest in peace. Salute. Jerry & Sue DeRose, Santa Barbara, CA.

Joe you were my best friend and husband. You always put your family first and it shows in the wonderful, honorable men that your sons Justin and Jared have become. I was blessed to be married to you for 33 years. We were always on the same wavelength and knew what the other was thinking and about to say. I could see that twinkle in your eye when you were about to pull out a joke. You had that gift of making each of us feel special and that we really mattered.
I am realizing now that it’s not illegal for me to pump gas! You always teased me about that. “Did you miss me!” was another of your favorites. Yes we do miss you, very, very much.
Love Lynn

When Lynn told me Joe had died,she said,”he was a good man” and so he was. He was the best of husbands and a great Dad to Justin and Jared.
When Lynn and Joe decided to get married we were unhappy at first that Joe was taking our much loved daughter so far away from us, but we came to terms with it eventually,and we were grateful that they had such a good marriage and were so obviously happy together.

On my visits from England I have been privileged to meet many members of Joe’s large loving family, and I know they have been caring for Lynn. Joe will live on in my two wonderful grandchildren Justin and Jared.

I also remember that twinkle in Joe’s eyes when he would say “lets party.” My condolences to all his family and friends, and especially to my brave, beautiful daughter who I need to hug. We will indeed all miss Joe.Sleep peacefully.