[Vision2020] Thank You Moscow

Sat Jul 23 16:39:36 PDT 2005

I want to thank Linda Pall and all the other well
wishers for their kind and sympathetic words regarding
the passing of my grandmother Doris E. Connelly.

These last two weeks have been hard on my family
dealing with her illness, death, and funeral.

I want to give special thanks to the folks at Aspen
and Gritman for the great and loving care they gave
Doris in her final years and days. She was happy with
their care and fondly referred to Aspen as "home".

All of Doris's close family members were blessed by
being able to say good-bye. She was fully mentally
competent until her last breath. Doris felt no pain in
her final hours. 

For those interested I have attached a copy of her
obituary. One of her great accomplishments not listed
in the obituary was that she was a wonderful
grandmother. Doris at one time was my legal guardian
and I lived with her. She played a significant role in
my life beyond most grandmother-grandson
relationships. I miss her greatly. 

She is now resting with her husband Leland G.
Connelly, one child, a sister, both parents, and other
relatives in the Moscow Cemetery.

Thanks,

Donovan J Arnold

OBITUARY:

Doris E. Connelly

    Doris E. Connelly passed away Tuesday, July 19,
2005, at Gritman Medical Center in Moscow, Idaho, at
age 84 from complications of diabetes.  Doris was born
on November 23, 1920, to Eddie and Louise Kane
Erickson in Devils Lake, North Dakota.  She was one of
eight brothers and sisters who grew up in Edmore,
North Dakota, during the Great Depression and Dust
Bowl of the 1930s in a family home with no indoor
plumbing or electricity.  She graduated from Edmore
High School in 1938, and Mayville Teachers College in
1940.  She taught in various one-room school houses in
rural North Dakota.  
She married the love of her life, Leland G. Connelly
in Seattle, Washington, in 1942.  She then became a
“camp follower,” following her husband to various Army
training bases around the country until he was
stationed overseas from 1943 to 1945. During that
period, she moved to Moscow, Idaho, to live with
family members who had moved there to work during
harvest.  
    When Lee was discharged from the Army at the
conclusion of World War II, he joined Doris in Moscow
and they started a family and a business, Tri-State
Distributors.  In 1968, when Doris was 47, Lee died
suddenly of cardiac arrest, leaving Doris and five
children at the family home.  By necessity, Doris took
over as President of Tri-State, which continued to
grow and prosper under her strong and dedicated
leadership.  She remained active in the business until
the late 1990s, stepping down when her children,
Gerard and Mary, came of age in the late 1970s.
     In 1949, Doris and Lee were blessed with the
birth of their daughter, Annie, born with a
developmental disability.  That event began a lifelong
commitment to service and advocacy for people with
disabilities.  Lee is credited with establishing the
first school in Moscow for children with handicaps,
the Moscow Opportunity School, when Annie was five
years of age. Doris worked side-by-side with Lee in
this endeavor.  In 1974, when the federal government
mandated that individual states provide education for
children with disabilities, the Opportunity School
converted its assets into a foundation and Doris
remained on its Board of Directors until 2001.  The
foundation today continues to provide grants for
people with disabilities in Latah County.
    In 1979, Doris became one of the original members
of the Board of Directors of Stepping Stones Inc. 
Although many dedicated board members deserve credit
for establishing the first group home in Moscow for
adults with developmental disabilities, none provided
a more key role than Doris.  She took the risk of
purchasing a house, Group Home One, and subsequently
donated it to Stepping Stones.  At this  same
organization’s most recent meeting of the Board of
Directors, it was announced that Doris was near death
and board members stated that Stepping Stones might
not exist today if it weren’t for Doris.
Doris loved spending time with her family, especially
at her cabin on Coeur d’ Alene Lake.  Reflecting on
her life, Doris said, “I’ve had a great life.  I’ve
had fishing, bowling and bridge.” Her daughter Mary
asked, “What about your kids?” and Doris, with her
usual quick wit, replied, “Oh yeah, them too.”  
    Although she initially did not want to live in a
nursing home, a friend told her that some people don’t
go there to die but to live a better life, which she
did at Aspen Park Healthcare where she established
friendships with the staff that she treasured dearly. 
Doris and her family are deeply grateful for the
loving care of the Aspen staff, as well as the giving
doctors and nurses at Gritman Medical Center during
her final stay.
    Doris is survived by four children, five
grandchildren, and two great grandchildren:  Michelle
Arnold and husband Mike in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho;
Michelle and Mike’s children, Reenie Arnold and
Donovan Arnold of Moscow; Tige Arnold and his wife
Julie, and their two daughters Felicia and Paige of
Boise; Doris’s son Gerard and his wife Cindy, and
their three children, Mackenzie and Cherish of Troy,
and Zach Ahlers of Portland, Oregon; Doris’s daughters
Annie and Mary Connelly, both of Moscow, and the
family’s great friend, Carmen Haddock of Moscow.  Also
surviving are several dozen nieces and nephews. She
was preceded in death by her husband, Lee, a daughter,
Maureen (Reenie) her parents and all seven of her
brothers and sisters.
     In lieu of flowers, Doris requested that
donations be made to St. Mary’s School Capital Fund,
412 N. Monroe, Moscow, Idaho 83843.   The Rosary is
scheduled at 2:00 p.m. Friday, July 22, 2005, with the
funeral mass to follow at 2:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s
Church in Moscow.  

--- Linda Pall <lpall at moscow.com> wrote:

> Dear Visionaries,
> 
> As many of you may know, Donovan Arnold has suffered
> a great loss this week.
> 
> His grandmother, Doris Connelly, passed away Tuesday
> and her funeral was today, Friday. Mrs. Connelly was
> the wife of the founder of Tri State on the Pullman
> Road and on her husband's untimely death, was forced
> to step in, run the business and take care of her
> large family besides. She was a great advocate for
> people with developmental disabilities at a time
> when most of the rest of the world would rather have
> (and tried to!) forget them or shut them away.
> Stepping Stones, Inc., grew out of her efforts.
> 
> Donovan and Moscow have both lost a great role model
> and citizen.
> 
> Linda Pall>
_____________________________________________________
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>    
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>
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> 

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