Robert Francis Connolly

Robert Francis Connolly passed away peacefully at home in Fredericksburg, Virginia on Friday, April 11, 2025 at the age of 83. Robert, also known as Bob, was born on February 4th,1942 in Queens and brought to Staten Island as a newborn by his parents, the late William and Anna (nee Punch) Connolly. He grew up first in Midland Beach and then in Grant City as the eldest of 5 siblings.

He served in the US Air Force in the early 1960s and worked for 40 years first as a draftsman and then as a telephone repairman for the NY Telephone Company and later NYNEX. Robert had a natural curiosity about how things were constructed and operated and enjoyed using his skills to build and figure out how things worked. He will be remembered as a strong man who always persisted in caring and providing for his wife and children through good health and sickness.

Robert met the love of his life, the late Dorothy Connolly (nee Warne) in 1961. They married in 1962, and lived for 40 years in Staten Island where they raised their family. Robert and Dorothy lived their last year of marriage and all of their summers at their lake house on Lake Hopatcong, N.J.. It was their most favorite place to be. Robert and Dorothy also loved travelling to the Caribbean, Europe, the United Kingdom, Morocco, Turkey, and many US states. Robert continued to live at the lake after Dorothy's passing and enjoyed time spent with his family.

Robert is survived by his son, Mark Connolly and his wife, Belinda; daughter, Susan Scarbeck and her husband, John Christopher; 4 granddaughters, Isabel and Evelyn Connolly, Laura Scarbeck, Katie (and Jonathon) Macdonald (nee Scarbeck); a grandson, Sean Robert-Walter Scarbeck; a sister, Marcella Baggetta, and a brother, Daniel Connolly. Robert's sisters Judith Phoel (nee Connolly) and Patricia Connolly predeceased him.

The family asks that donations be made to one of the following charities in Robert's memory; American Heart Association ( heart.org ), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center ( https://www.mskcc.org ), Breast Cancer Research Foundation (https://www.bcrf.org ), or Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) ( https://www.breakthrough1d.org ).

A visitation for Robert will be held Friday, May 16, 2025 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Harmon Funeral Home, 571 Forest Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10310. A funeral service will occur Saturday, May 17, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM, 571 Forest Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10310. An interment will occur Saturday, May 17, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Moravian Cemetery, 2205 Richmond Rd, New York, NY 10306.