In memoriam: Harold Lynn Connell

Connell, age 92, passed away at his home in Albuquerque on July 26, 2021 after a short illness. He was born June 5, 1929 at a silver mining camp in Rosario, Honduras, Central America to mother Fay Collins Connell and father Everett Clifton Connell. He spent the first 12 years of his life in Honduras but moved to the United States to live with his paternal grandparents in Springfield, Missouri after completing sixth grade at the mining camp which was the extent of schooling available there. In Springfield, he attended Wentworth Military Academy for his junior high years then moved to Pennsylvania where he graduated from high school in May of 1947. He moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico in 1948 and graduated from the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (NMCAMA, now known as New Mexico State University) in January of 1952 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. While attending NMCAMA, he was enrolled in advanced ROTC and received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps where he subsequently served two years active duty. He began working at the Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) at NMCAMA/NMSU as a student in April 1951, was hired full time in June 1952, and retired, after 42 years, in 1994 as the Manager of the Instrumentation Division and Program Manager of NASA's High Altitude Scientific Balloon Program. 

Harold met Mary Louise (Mary Lou) Morrison (1924-2002) on a blind date on New Year's Eve 1956 in Las Cruces, New Mexico and they were married May 14, 1957. They had two daughters by whom he is survived: Bodwin Louise (and husband Wes Slaughter) and Grace Anne (and husband Jim Arrowsmith) with whom he lived for the last four years of his life. Also surviving him are his two granddaughters, Lorien Amey Haigh (and husband Jedediah Tressler) and Rebecca Eileen Haigh and their father, Earl Haigh. 

Harold, an only child, was immediately and enthusiastically adopted into Mary Lou's large and boisterous extended family. He and Mary Lou hosted four large, three-day reunions of the Morrison clan at their home in Las Cruces where Harold became legendary for his mastery of perfectly grilled steaks, to desired doneness, and for the art and science he applied to concocting the perfect dry, gin martini and his classic tangy margarita made with fresh-squeezed lime juice. 

Harold and Mary Lou became interested in hot air ballooning in the early 1980's and bought their first balloon, Chimera, in late 1983. After intensive study, training and testing, Harold was granted his private balloon pilot's license in early 1984 and his commercial balloon pilot's license in 1985. He gave literally thousands of hot air balloon rides to eager and/or apprehensive passengers, young and old, over the more than 20 years he was active in 

hot air ballooning. He participated in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta every October for 27 years. The hundreds of balloon rides he gave at the many Morrison family reunions over those years were eagerly anticipated and greatly enjoyed by the extended family as well. Even though he was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a "morning person," Harold managed to get out of bed before the crack of dawn to bring joy to others by doing an activity he loved and enjoyed immensely. He met many of his closest friends through ballooning and passed on his love of the sport by training several pilots who went on to own their own balloons and are still actively ballooning. 

Harold was defined by his love of life, his great (sometimes bawdy) sense of humor, his curiosity about life and insatiable thirst for knowledge, his mastery of innumerable skills and, probably most of all, for his generosity. He was never too busy to help out a friend (or a daughter!) with a car problem, to assist a stranger stranded on the roadside, to share his boundless knowledge of all things mechanical and scientific, or to open up his shop full of useful tools to anyone in need, to be accompanied by his vast knowledge of how to use them to fix or fabricate almost anything. He was creative and kind and always the first to pick up the check after dining. 

Harold will be remembered vividly and fondly by family and friends and will be missed greatly by those who survive him. Harold has been cremated and no services are scheduled at this time but a Celebration of Harold's Life will be arranged for a future date, yet to be determined. If desired, donations may be made in Harold's name to Presbyterian Healthcare Services Hospice, 8100 Constitution Place NE, Suite 400, Albuquerque, NM 87110-7644.