Charles Connelly Obituary

Charles H. Connelly (Jr.) "Chuck", 94 years old, died on March 1st, 2026 of natural causes in Loveland, CO. with family & friends bedside. Born in Hillsdale, New Jersey to Charles H. Conolly (Sr.) (Birth certificate misspelled Connelly), and Elizabeth Hanaveld in 1932, he enjoyed 65 years of adventures to the end in his marriage with his surviving wife, artist Regina Theresa (Bardauskas) Connelly, once a legal-secretary w/ the Chicago law firm Lord Bissell & Brooks (Nuremberg trials). After high school he was self educated in newspaper lead-typesetting, printing, editing, and distribution, also worked in iron handrail welding fabrication and installation. He enlisted in the Pennsylvania Dutch Army National Guard in the mi 1950's, achieved Master Sergeant rank and was a trophy decorated marksman. He employed his Civilian Private Pilots License as welding supplies distributor for Forney industries, flying throughout the midwest, creating endless madcap landing and takeoff stories. He travelled to Japan and Hawaii as a member and consulting expert on micro-pulse and TIG welding representing the American Welding Society to learn about robotic production lines. He travelled the states as metallurgist and consultant on NASA spacecraft, Navy submarines, medical specialty production. Entrepreneur of small businesses in Fort Collins: Western American Sports Products, Futec, Arcon, and Pescatarian Treasures. He won military research contracts to develop a process to make porosity & crack-free welds w/o having to X-ray. Wearing all the hats: grant writer, visionary, shop foreman, mechanical & electrical engineer, draughtsman, fabricator, and salesman. Charles waterskied and snow skied w/ Robert F Kennedy joining his presidential Campaign, while pregnant Regina helped RFK's pregnant wife Ethel Kennedy. He took ski lessons immediately after he met Regina at a party - to court his sweet heart, and filmed himself doing a front flip on skiis the same year. He lent his size 12 roller skates to an intoxicated Yankees baseball player Mickey Mantel, then watched him trash a polished hotel ballroom floor with metal wheels in the wee-hours in Chicago. He could pirouette spin on roller-skates like an olympic figure skater leaving onlookers & family agog. Chuck supported Regina's art, tour guiding for every painting in the house, providing studio space, attending openings, built displays & frames. Together they loved operas, musicals, documentaries and film. He creatively pioneered alternative x-mas tree shapes for holiday parties, he hired Archi Ulm to play the family organ, and made sought-after mulled wine. In 1980 Chuck & Regina planned thee epic family vacation to Alaska, knowing their 4 teenagers were rearing to leave the home nest. A year in advance he subscribed to Alaska magazine to research sights, routes, weather, fly-fishing, and tourist highlights. He assembled a spectacular multi-trailer caravan made up of: a Suburban pulling a 26' Argosy trailer which was pulling a 14' john boat trailer!!! 6 people in a truck under 2 canoes, minibike on the front, gold dust pans, cameras, guns, fishing rods, adventure gear, it was a sight stared upon. The charter for Halibut was astonishing, visits w/ island artists & their pet seal - thrilling, panned for Yukon gold, rescued travelers driven off of the road. On the return leg through British Columbia Chuck & Reg decided rather than drive through those mountains in poor weather, their kids needed more space to do their own thing, so we dog legged over to the coast, took a ferry South, and everyone spread out for the cruise. Remembered for his Big-Fish story telling with passionate flair ups, and extraordinary minute details i.e. full names, spouses, dates, occupations, and demeanor, and context from decades and decades past. He met Salvador Dali in at the Algonquin hotel bar: "I turn around and there he was! You couldn't mistake him, he was all over the news at the time, debuting in America from Spain, and the mustache (pantomiming the handlebars), but I had turned around because of this terrible smell, They don't bath over there - so he and his wife, anyway I had just cut my finger on a martini glass I crushed with my hands after a toast, and was sucking on my finger because of the blood, when I turn around and see these eyes! I instantly knew who it was, I didn't get a chance to talk with him, its a very busy bar after the theater gets out, but I was wondering if my bleeding finger would ever show up in one of his paintings, i've been looking." Frequent submitter of mischeivious counterpoint editorials to local newspapers, avid reader, civil war researcher, jazz collector, he wrote & memorized poems. Charles was a martini connoisseur, loved Oysters Rockefeller, pickled pigs feet, liverwurst on a triscuit, cheesecake, chocolate ice cream, and especially a good story well told. He called New York, Northern New Jersey, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Fort collins, home in series. Also survived by siblings: Jean (Binaghi) C. + (Ron d.), Sharon (Chimochowski) C. = (Ray d.). Kenny C. Children: Son Alan Connelly, his wife Maureen (Maniatis) and daughter Shelly Connelly and her companion Jared Atencio, and great great grandson McClain. Daughters: Cathleen Connelly and companion Jeff. and Beverly Connelly and companion Sean M. and son Howard Connelly and companion Adrianna A. Preceded in death by siblings Joan, James, and Richard. In lieu of flowers, donations to: Doctors Without Borders. or in honor of his poem about the "Children of Ukraine" to any antiwar organization - would be an appropriate tribute.