Philip Joseph Connell, 76, died Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at Seacoast McLeod Hospital in North Carolina.
Philip Connell, 76, died May 28. His memorial service will be on Saturday, June 1.
Phil was born Sept. 20, 1942 in Springfield, Massachusetts to parents Ruth Walsh and Philip Joseph Connell.
After World War II, his family moved to Darien, where he grew up and graduated from Darien High School in 1960. In 1964, he graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts with a bachelor of science degree in economics and accounting.
In 1965, Phil graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Officer Candidate School. Subsequently, he served at Cape May, New Jersey and was a commanding officer of Kure Island LORAN Station in Hawaii.
Upon leaving the Coast Guard in 1968, Phil attended Fairfield University, where he earned a master’s degree in education.
— an obituary from White Funeral and Cremation Service
In 1969, Phil began a teaching career in Long Branch, New Jersey. There he spent 34 years as a social studies teacher at Long Branch High School. For several years, he served as head teacher of the Social Studies Department.
He most enjoyed teaching Advanced Placement U.S. history. A resident of Ocean Township, New Jersey for 30 years, Phil was an avid reader, gardener, and enjoyed spending summers at the beach. He spent the last 70 years waiting for the Cleveland Indians to win another World Series.
Upon the retirement of his beloved wife, RoseMary, in 2005, Phil and RoseMary moved to Carolina Shores in the southeastern corner of North Carolina.
In their years of retirement, Phil and RoseMary spent vacations hiking and photographing nearly every major national park in the U.S. and Canada, in addition to visiting several minor national parks and U.S. monuments. In 2007, they spent the summer working and living in Yellowstone National Park.
Phil is survived by his wife, RoseMary, of Little River, South Carolina; brother, David Connell, and his wife, Linda, of Fairfax, Virginia; daughter, Erin Long, and her husband, Michael, of Indian Trail, North Carolina; son, Kevin Connell, and his wife, Liza, of Half Moon Bay, California; daughter, Kristi Connell, of Toms River, New Jersey; and daughter, Megan Connell, of New York City.
Also surviving Phil are his three step-daughters: Cheryl Garrecht and her husband, John, of Neptune, New Jersey; Christine Harrington of Boyton Beach, Florida; and Katie Amodio of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
His eight superb grandchildren are Olivia and Nathan Long; Lexie and Macklin Philip Connell; Jaymie and Robert Amodio; and Aiden and Shane Garrecht. May they grow strong and remember their grandfather’s love.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 1, 2019 at White Funeral and Cremation Service, 3660 Express Drive, Shallotte, North Carolina.
You may offer online condolences at the funeral home website.