Maj. Robert E. Connelly, Usaf (Ret.)

Robert Connelly, 97, passed from this life into the next on March 5, 2021. He was born on December 8, 1923, in Fort Wayne, Indiana to Joseph and Estella (Kramer) Connelly. He was the youngest of four children.

Robert grew up there graduating from Central Catholic High School in June of 1941. He was inducted into the military in January of 1943. In September of 1943, he was assigned to the College Training Detachment at the University of Alabama where he met his beloved wife of 73 years. He completed pilot training in March of 1944 and commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He flew 48 combat missions in the Martin Marauder B-26 bomber over Italy and France until the end of the war. He returned to the States in July of 1945. Robert attended Purdue University on the G.I. Bill graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1950. He was recalled to active duty in 1951 and remained on active duty until his retirement in May of 1968.

After retiring from the Air Force, he worked another 20 years at Robins Air Force Base in middle Georgia where he was employed as a quality assurance engineer until 1988. After retiring, he continued to live in Warner Robins. He loved visiting Ireland with his wife trying to trace their ancestries and traveled to many different cities in search of historical information on his family. While at home, he loved to garden and follow Notre Dame football. In 2016, because of failing health, he and his wife, Bernadette, moved to Florida to be closer to his oldest son and lived with him until his death.

Robert was preceded in death by his wife, Bernadette and by his son John. He is survived by his daughter, Frances Cecil; sons, Michael (Linda), Terrence (Meg), Patrick (Patti), Thomas and Matthew (Margaret); many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His memory lives on through the love of his family.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, March 22, 2021, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

For friends and family unable to attend, the service will be streamed live via the McCullough Funeral Home Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mcculloughfuneralhome/live/.

Learn about the measures McCullough Funeral Home is taking to ensure the health and safety of our guests at www.mcculloughfh.com. There you can also sign an Online Registry for the family.

McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory and Quinn-Shalz Family Funeral Home in Jacksonville Beach, FL have the privilege of being entrusted with these arrangements.