Joseph John Connolly, 74, died October 23 at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester.

Joe was born on Staten Island, New York in November of 1941. He attended Wagner College and though he would proceed to spend much of his life outside of the City, he remained a devout and passionate New Yorker until the end.

After being drafted into the army during the Vietnam War, Joe was assigned to serve as a medical technologist in the Valley Forge VA Hospital. After receiving his honorable discharge, he went to work as a salesman for Fisher Scientific, where he rose to become Senior VP of National Sales and Marketing.

In 1982, Joe married Dianne Fallon, and the couple welcomed daughter Rebecca Fallon and son Matthew Joseph into existence in 1983 and 1985, respectively. In 1992 Joe achieved his lifelong dream of owning an Old English Sheep Dog named Charles. Charles was good—very, very good.

In 1987, Joe and Dianne founded Lab Force Services, providing medical staffing for clinical laboratory and diagnostic radiology professionals.  Joe ran Lab Force for twenty years, strategically expanding the business from a regional to a national level, and helping to provide countless scores of individuals with gainful employment.

Joe and Dianne divorced in 2005; however, in subsequent years their loving relationship continued to grow in new and unexpected ways. Dianne bravely and compassionately accompanied Joe through the illness that would take his life, and it was in her embrace that he spent his final moments of consciousness.

In family, in business, and in his active spiritual life, Joe Connolly worked ceaselessly and selflessly, with unimaginable strength of will, toward that which is real, true, and Good. He will be missed by Becca, Matt and Dianne, brothers Jim, Bill, Tom and Steven, sisters Barbara and Margaret, and many others who enjoyed his enormous guffaw, his intellect, and his genuine love for the life that he shaped for himself and his family.

Family and friends are invited to visitation and a celebration of Joe’s life on Thursday October  27, 2016 from 11am to 2pm at The Goundrey & Dewhirst Funeral Home, 42 Main Street, Salem, NH.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the New England Heart Institute Foundation, c/o Catholic Medical Center, 100 McGregor Street, Manchester, NH 03102. "In memory of Joe Connolly" or to the New Hampshire Food Bank, 700 E Industrial Park Drive, Manchester, NH 03109 "in memory of Joe Connolly"   To send an online condolence, please go to www.goundreydewhirstfuneral.com.

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