Ruth Ann Connell

Ruth Ann Connell 1930 - 2025

Ruth Ann Wilson Connell was born in Alliance, Nebraska, on February 21, 1930, to Charles Sumner Wilson and Eva Irene (Latham) Wilson. She was raised on a Pepper Creek farm and remained a resident of Dawes County until her death in Chadron on March 9, 2025.

Ruth Ann traced her Nebraska roots to 1852 when her great-great-grandfather, Jonas Mitchell, began as a blacksmith at the Bellevue Agency. His Sarpy County farm was the oldest Nebraska farm in continuous family ownership until its 1958 sale.

The highlight of Ruth Ann’s youth was attending residential high school at The University of Nebraska School of Agriculture in Curtis, where she was active in numerous clubs and cheerleading, editor of the Curtis Aggie newspaper, chosen UNSA Sweetheart and Ak-Sar-Ben attendant, and president of the Girls Dorm Council. Ruthie especially enjoyed dorm life with rural students from across the state and recalled the biggest boost to her popularity as owning the only black sweater in the dorm which all the girls took turns wearing.

At Curtis she completed a two-year Normal Training teacher prep course and began her teaching career when she moved to Whitney, NE, in 1947 to teach first through fourth grades until 1951.

Robert “Bob” Connell claimed it was a tradition for Whitney’s bachelors to marry the single teachers and it was eventually his turn. Bob and Ruth Ann were married in Hot Springs, South Dakota, on May 28, 1949. She was “happy to marry into a family with numerous nieces and nephews,” after a lonely childhood on the prairie. (Her only sibling was eleven years older and moved to Washington DC when Ruth Ann was very young.) Bob and Ruth Ann purchased the Whitney service station in 1953 and formed the Connell Oil Company, running the station and a bulk plant until 1969.

Ruth Ann taught until she became a stay-at-home mother and returned to school in 1966 to earn a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education at Chadron State College. Vicki tired of being a latchkey child and begged her mother not to begin working full-time until Vicki completed Whitney’s 8th grade classes. They began school at Chadron Middle School together

in 1968 where Ruth Ann taught sixth grade math and science. She is remembered as the owl pellet lady, for the pop-tops students collected and chained together to learn the meaning of a million, for outdoor learning camps at Norwesca, and for inspiring several students to become science teachers. In 1972, Ruth Ann earned her Masters Degree in Elementary Supervision. A life-long learner, she continued to take courses to hone teaching skills and explore new areas of interest.

Always busy, Ruth Ann was active in the community as a member of the United Methodist Church and choir, bowling teams and card-playing groups, many clubs including the Earth Lodge Club, National Education Association, Business and Professional Women, and as a PTA organizer, Sunday School teacher, 4-H leader, and much more. A special part of their lives was a bridge club of Whitney couples who played together for 50 years.

Commuting to Chadron with daughters in high school and college was challenging so, after deciding Bob should be the sole commuter, the family moved to a home in Chadron in 1970. Ruth Ann continued to teach in the Chadron City Schools (Middle School, East Ward, and Kenwood Elementary) until taking early retirement in 1990.

Retirement years were no less active, as she thrived on belonging to Chadron Culture Club, Beta Sigma Phi, PEO, bridge groups, Friends of the Library, book clubs, Pine Ridge Amateur Radio Club, the Dawes County Historical Society, AAUW, and more.

Genealogy work took the couple on many vacation trips to libraries and cemeteries. They traced their ancestry back 13 and 14 generations to discover they were 13th cousins-once-removed. They enjoyed studying genealogy at Elderhostels on several campuses, including Holland College on Prince Edward Island where they learned more about Bob’s great-grandmother.

In 2003, the couple moved to Prairie Pines Lodge in Chadron where they resided until their deaths (Bob in 2010). They enjoyed time with new and old friends, Cribbage clubs, and many activities. SCRABBLE was a passion and playing online allowed Ruth Ann to meet interesting people from around the world.

Ruth Ann is survived by her daughter Vicki Ann Connell and favorite (despite his tickling her ankles in Wind Cave) son-in-law Hoyt Keith Kay of Athens, Georgia, “adopted daughter” Janice German and her children Susan and Aaron, plus many treasured nieces and nephews and their progeny.

Ruth Ann will be laid to rest during a private inurnment at Whitney Cemetery in sight of Crow Butte beside her husband, daughter Paula Jo, and son Kelly Jay, and amidst 6 generations of Connells. Also predeceasing Ruth Ann were: sister Jane Wilson Carvelas and brother-in-law John Carvelas; Connell sisters-in-law Mildred (Maurice “Mike”) Scofield, Gwendolyn (Richard) Walcott, and Betty (Alfred “Tommy”) Thompson; Connell brothers-in-law Clarence (Mary), Charles, and Warren “Windy” (Frances).

In lieu of flowers, please contribute to one of Ruth Ann’s favorite causes: Paula Jo Connell Scholarship at Chadron State College, Chadron Public Library, Chadron United Methodist Church, or your favorite charity.

We are grateful to the many caregivers who allowed Ruth Ann to live and die comfortably in her home, especially Lynne Simmons and Melissa Martin, the women of the Chadron UMC, Chadron Home Health and Hospice, Tim Frye, Bobby Griese, Dr. Kristi Johnson, and the wonderful staff members at Prairie Pines Lodge and Chadron Physical Therapy.