MUSCATINE, Iowa - Robert Lawrence Connell, 84, of Muscatine, died Wednesday, January 5, 2005, at Lutheran Homes where he was residing.
Service will be at Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home, 1931 Houser Street. The Reverend John P. Gallagher of the Ss. Mary and Mathias Parish will officiate. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery. The family will gather for light refreshment at the Knights of Columbus Hall following the committal service.
Robert was born on August 4, 1920, in Muscatine, the son of John Dennis 'J.D.' and Mary Margaret McEvoy Connell. He married Dorothy Marie Fuller on April 12, 1944. She preceded him in death on November 26, 1999.
Robert worked at Connell Motors and was a lifelong farmer. He took pride in having been one of the official Shorthorn Cattle Breeders to foresee the need for leaner cattle and to use imported Irish Shorthorn breeding stock to change the confirmation of the Shorthorn cattle breed in the United States.
He was a member of the St. Mathias Church, Bloomington Grange, Farm Bureau, the American Shorthorn Association and the Iowa Shorthorn Association. He served on many community boards and was a long time 4-H Leader and FFA Council member.
He was proud and happy to have lived his entire life in the house where he was born. Robert's favorite activity after the farming was done was to follow his kids and then his grandchildren to livestock and cattle shows all over the country. His grandchildren were very important in his life.
Survivors include two sons, Gerald A. Connell of Muscatine and Geoffery A. Connell and wife, Dea, of Stillman Valley, Illinois; and six grandchildren, Christy Brus of Wolback, Nebraska, R. J. Connell of Cedar Rapids, and Kyle Connell, Kane Connell, Kade Connell and Kale Connell all of Stillman Valley, Illinois.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, one son, Larry, two sisters, Margaret and Irene, and one brother, John Leo Connell