SPRINGFIELD – Robert Francis Connelly, retired educator and lawyer, of Springfield and Osterville, MA, died at home Monday, March 7, 2016, at age 77, following a long pulmonary illness. Born August 13, 1938, to Dennis F. Connelly and Rose M. (Feustel) Connelly, he was salutatorian of the Class of 1956 at Cathedral High School and a 1960 graduate in the honors program at The College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA. The recipient of a Fulbright grant, he studied at the Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France and received a Master of Arts degree from American International College in 1963, where he served as Class Marshal. He received a Woodrow Wilson fellowship for study at Princeton University, New Jersey and took educational accreditation courses at the College of Our Lady of the Elms. He earned his Juris Doctor cum laude at Western New England College School of Law in 1974. Bob taught French, English and Latin in the Suffield, CT public schools, from which he retired in 1995 as Director, Department of Foreign Languages. He worked part time as a lawyer with the Springfield law firm of Moriarty, Donoghue and Leja, P.C., from 1974-1995, and full time thereafter until his retirement in 2005. He was a member of the Saint Thomas More Law Society and received the St. Thomas More Award for distinguished law personnel in 2012. He had been a member of the Colony Club. A papal honoree, he was invested as a Knight in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1989 by Pope John Paul II and was promoted to the highest rank of Knight Grand Cross in 1998. Bob served as a corporator of the Sisters of Providence Health Care Facilities, a member of the Advisory Board to the Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, a Director of the Community Music School of Springfield and a corporator of the Horace Smith Fund. He was a member of the Suffield Teachers' Association, Connecticut Teachers' Association, the National Teachers' Association and the Hampden County, Massachusetts and American Bar Associations. A communicant of Sacred Heart Church, Springfield, he served on the Parish Council, was vice-chair of the school board and a member and a soloist of the church choir. He was also a soloist with the Dan Kane Singers. Mr. Connelly belonged to the President's Circle of the College of Our Lady of the Elms. He is survived by his loving family, his wife of fifty years, Carolyn M. (O'Connor) Connelly, two sons, Monsignor Christopher D. Connelly, Vicar General of the Diocese of Springfield and Rector of Saint Michael's Cathedral Parish, Attorney Daniel J. Connelly and his wife Katharine Casey (Fitzgerald) Connelly, two grandsons, James Christopher Connelly and William Fitzgerald Connelly, all of Wakefield, MA, and his sister, Carole A. (Connelly) Sullivan and her husband Cornelius of Springfield, MA, several nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and many dear friends. The family extends special thanks to Helen Murphy Avis and her nursing staff and to Mercy Hospice. His funeral will be held on Saturday morning, March 12, 2016 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Springfield Chapels, (413-737-1177), 7 Chapin Terrace, Springfield, MA 01107, (funeral home will open at 9 a.m.), followed by a Concelebrated Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. in Sacred Heart Church, 395 Chestnut Street, Springfield, MA 01104. His burial will follow the Mass at Saint Michael Cemetery, 1601 State Street, Springfield, MA 01109. His family will receive friends at the funeral home on Friday, March 11, 2016 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to any of the Catholic institutions or organizations listed above. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com