Vera Connell

Vera M. Connell, 87, of 3504 Hoover Ave., Altoona, formerly of the town of Lafayette, died Sunday, February 28, 2010 at Chippewa Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation in Chippewa Falls.

She was born September 14, 1922 in Brainerd, Minn. to Ann (Clarke) and Edward Place. She moved with her family to Eau Claire when she was four years old. She graduated from Eau Claire Memorial High School in 1940.

Vera married James W. Connell on December 25, 1941 in Portsmouth, Va. They resided in the town of Lafayette where they farmed and operated Connell's Orchard. In 1965 they moved to Menomonie where she and her husband managed the Bundy Hall Episcopal Conference Center. They moved to Oshkosh in 1969 and then moved back to the town of Lafayette in 1973. Vera then moved to Eau Claire in 1987 after the death of her husband and for the past year has resided in Altoona.