The funeral service for Nina Jean Connolly will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday May 21, 2015 in River Park Chapel at Macken Funeral Home in Rochester with Pastor Jean Boese officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery in Rochester. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 21, 2015 at the Funeral Home.

Nina Connolly, 94 of Rochester, MN. passed away peacefully on May 18, 2015. She had been a resident of Samaritan Bethany nursing home in Rochester for the past two years.

Nina was born on May 11, 1921, in Spencer, Iowa, the daughter of Clarence and Hazel (Culver) Cranston. The family moved to Rochester when Nina was a young girl. She is survived by her four children, Jerry (Mary) of Kimberly, WI; Mike (Bonnie) of Shoreview, MN; Jean (Ken) Pagel, and Steve (Lane) of Rochester, and seven grandchildren, Jennifer Schwartz, Christine Connolly, Alissa Goessl, Krista Connolly, Brian Connolly, Daniel Pagel, and Jessica Pagel. She was preceded in death by her husband Don, her parents, and her five siblings.

Nina was a lifelong resident of Rochester. She and Don met at a dance, and were married from 1941 until Don's passing , May 13, 2011, a span of almost 70 years. Dancing and socializing with friends was a favorite thing for them to do on a Saturday night. Nina and Don were involved in running the family business, Connolly's Downtown Motel, from the early 1950's until their retirement in 1982. Nina enjoyed playing cards, bowling, baking birthday cakes, and reading stories to her children and grandchildren. Nina and Don often took time away from the business, spending summer weekends in Lake City. After retirement, they spent winters in Vero Beach, Florida. Nina made many friends through the motel business, the Rochester Does, and church alter groups. She was a very kind-hearted, gentle, caring person, always cheerful and upbeat, and will be dearly missed by her family and friends.

Nina and her family wish to send a sincere thank-you to the wonderful staff at Samaritan Bethany and Seasons Hospice, for their wonderful friendship and loving care provided over the past couple of years.

Memorials are preferred to Seasons Hospice