Connelly, William L 'Bill' Age 81 of Bloomington, died peacefully at The Little Hospice on February 14. He was preceded in death by his brother, Gerald, and his sister Elizabeth McEnery. Bill graduated from Lanesboro High School and the University of St. Thomas. He went to work for U.S. Bank for 25 years after a short stint in the Army. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Babbitt, Northfield, Grand Forks, and Austin Banks. He completed graduate work at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University while at U.S. Bank. Shifting from the corporate to the public sector, he was the Minnesota Deputy Commissioner of Trade and Development. From there he went to the University of St. Thomas as a Director, and taught courses at the Graduate School of Business. Bill said, "While at St. Thomas, I am particularly proud of being the founding director and board member of the Minnesota Indian Economic Development Fund, supported by a major grant from the McKnight Foundation." Bill served on numerous corporate, nonprofit, and community boards of directors, including The Gainey Center Board, and U of M advisory board at Crookston and St. Paul. He was honored to receive a Bush Leadership Fellowship, Humanitarian of the Year Award from St. Thomas, and The Torch and Shield award from the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Community service was a cornerstone of his life. In retirement, Bill wrote and published a book, "Minnesota American Indians" in 2012. He pursued pottery making and wrote short essays on his blog, titled "Bills Observations." Bill and Carol also traveled extensively. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carol Hughes, to whom he gave credit for making his life enjoyable and possible; three wonderful children, Catherine Wilson (Steve), Michael Connelly (Sarah), and Sarah Connelly; seven amazing grandchildren: Alexa, Austin, Bridget, Zoe, Nicholas, Tobin, and Lois. Bill is survived by sister-in-law Mary Connelly. In addition, he was enriched by his relationships with his many nephews, nieces, cousins, in-laws and friends. His family would like to thank the great doctors and staff at Health Partners and Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital and The Little Hospice for the care he received. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to The William Connelly fund at Lanesboro High School. Mass of Christian Burial Mon. March 11 at 11am at St. Edward's Catholic Church, 9401 Nesbit Ave. So. Bloomington. Visitation 1 hour prior to Mass at the church. Washburn-McReavy.com Werness Brothers 952-884-8145