JIMMY CONNELL

PERRY – Jimmy Daniel Connell, 92, passed away peacefully with his beloved wife by his side on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, after an extended illness. Visitation will be held on Saturday, February 11, 2023, from 3:00 until 4:30 p.m. at Watson-Hunt Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Perry with Rev. Bobby Nix and Rev. Jamie Powell officiating. Interment will be in Perry Memorial Gardens immediately following the service. Flowers will be gratefully accepted or memorial contributions may be made to First Baptist Church of Perry Youth Program, 1105 Main Street, Perry, GA 31069, or First Baptist Church of Perry Bereavement Committee, 1105 Main Street, Perry, GA 31069. Jimmy was born in Valdosta, grew up in Perry, and graduated from Perry High School with the Class of 1947. He proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy for four years. Upon his return from the military, Jimmy earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Mercer University. He soon accepted a position with Civil Service at Robins Air Force Base in Manpower Engineering where he worked until his retirement thirty years later. Jimmy was a long-time, very active member of First Baptist Church of Perry where he taught Sunday School for fifty-eight years, with forty-three of those years teaching three-year-old children about Jesus. He was also a Deacon Emeritus. Music was one of Jimmy’s favorite things, especially opera. Through the years, he and his wife would visit Atlanta to see the Metropolitan Opera on tour every night for a week. In his spare time and in retirement, Jimmy enjoyed cooking. To keep his mind active, he loved to read and work crossword puzzles. Jimmy was always excited to see new buds on the roses he nurtured and grew for many years. Jimmy was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Jeanne McDonald; and his brother-in-law, Walter Gray, Jr. Left to cherish the memories they made with Jimmy are his loving and devoted wife of sixty-five years, Coleyne Connell of Perry; his daughter and son-in-law, Danyne and Bryan Sherman of Cincinnati, Ohio; his son and daughter-in-law, Dan and Michele Connell of Ringgold, Georgia; his grandchildren, Cole Sherman, Ryan Connell, and Lindsay Connell; his sister, Betty Gray; his brothers-in-law, Dr. Carlton Bessinger and Bob McDonald; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. Condolences for the family may be left in the online guestbook at www.watsonhunt.com. Watson-Hunt Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.

Tributes

JIMMY CONNELL

September 15, 1930 - February 8, 2023