TUCSON, Ariz. — William "Bill" F. X. McConnell, 87, died at St. Mary’s Hospital in Tucson, Ariz., due to complications of Parkinson’s disease. McConnell was born in Greenock, Scotland, and migrated to the U.S. by way of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1923. His family lived in Ecorse, Mich., and then moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1932. After high school, he worked for Sperry Gyroscope in Brooklyn. In Sept. 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Army Air Corps 95th Infantry, the 282nd Engineer Battalion, the 1st Parachute Training Regiment, and the 168th Combat Engineer Battalion. While in the 168th, he participated in military engagements throughout Europe, including the Dec. 1944 Battle of the Bulge. He was seriously wounded during a crossing of the Rhine River at St. Goar, Germany in March 1945. McConnell was awarded numerous medals including the Purple Heart. Following his honorable discharge in 1945, he arrived in Washington, D.C., to attend American University’s Disabled Veterans Medical Law program. It was there he met his wife, Bette from Athens, Wisc. They married in Nov. 1946. In 1947, they moved to Salt Lake City, where he founded a number of chapters of the Disabled American Veterans organization throughout the state. In 1959, he became an adjudication officer at the Veterans Administration. He retired in 1984, from U.S. Government service, and soon after founded a chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He was a devout Catholic throughout his life and founded a chapter of the Knights of Columbus in Salt Lake City. He was a fourth degree knight and a commander of the honor guard for many years. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Bette; daughters, Mary (Richard) Dumas, Tewksbury, Mass., Theresa Russell, Tucson, Ariz., and Dr. Elizabeth McConnell, Phoenix, Ariz.; grandchildren, William and Claire Russell, Josephine Russell, Katherine and Alexander Dumas. A Memorial Mass was celebrated at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Tucson. Internment was in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
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