James G. Connor

HOOKSETT- On Thursday, April 13, 2023, less than 24 hours of our 78th wedding anniversary, I passed from this Earth and went to the Heavens with Jesus and my daughter by my side.

I was born on July 29, 1923, in Suncook (Glass St. to be exact), the son of World War I Purple Heart Veteran Onesime and Emma (Duval) Connor.  I had two sisters, Jeannette Mahair and Theresa Loso.   I was educated at St. Jean the Baptist School in Allenstown.  As luck would have it I would not make it to my 100th birthday.

At age 20, I joined the United States Navy “Fighting Seabees.”  Like many of us during World War II, I was proud to serve my country.  Off on a ship, our final destination was the Aleutian Islands, the island of Attu, the last island off a chain of small islands below Alaska on the Bering Sea.  The island was not habitable.  I was a longshoreman with the rank of Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class.  By the time we left the island, we had constructed air runways, hospitals, Quonset huts and many other buildings.

I returned home on leave to marry my sweetheart, Gertrude Piché.  Gert and I had met in the China Mills in Suncook.  I was teaching her a job when we went out for the first time.  Since that moment, she has remained “my girl.” We married on April 14, 1945 at Holy Rosary Church in Hooksett.  My wife accompanied me to Oregon where I was stationed and then to San Francisco.

We made our home on my father-in-law’s garden in 1952, over 70 years ago in Hooksett. 

Along with my wife, I worked at Pandora Sweaters in the mill yard in Manchester.  I knitted full fashion sweaters and at the end of my 38 years with Pandora, I was in the shipping department.

My wife of 78 years and I had three children, Sharon Suzanne Connor Baker (husband Gary H. Baker --pre-deceased), Darlene Anne Connor, and Karen Marie Connor-Yearke (husband Eric W. Yearke). Our middle daughter passed to see Jesus the same day she was born.

My two daughters gave me 3 grandchildren, Jason John Carrier, Jamison Thomas Carrier and Katryn Connor Baker Friske.  I have three great-grandchildren, Connor James Carrier, Kaeding Palmer Friske and Auden James Friske.

I have many nephews and nieces and one first cousin, Arlene Cassidy of Allenstown.  It is amazing that one person can be so many things to so many special people.  I have lived and I have loved well.  Jesus has been good to me.

I was a member of the Fr. Langlois Council #4961 Knights of Columbus in Hooksett.  I made my 4th Degree in 1960.  An active member for many years, I was proud to be in the Knights and was a devoted Catholic.

Our father was a gentle, kind man.  He was a wonderful father and husband to our mother.  We would like to thank Dr. Alan Stein for his many years of kind and great medical care and Dr. Monique Larouche.   Thanks also to the New England Heart Institute at Catholic Medical Center, the Granite VNA Hospice House nurses and LNAs.                                                                                                   

There are no calling hours.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, April 22nd at 10 A.M. in Holy Rosary Church in Hooksett.  Burial with Military Honors will follow in Holy Rosary Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, donations in Jim’s memory may be sent to the Granite VNA Hospice House, 30 Pillsbury St. Concord, NH 03301.  Assisting the family with arrangements is The Roan Family Funeral Home of Pembroke.  To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.roanfamilyfuneral.com