James P. Connolly

James Patrick Connolly, 76, of San Jose, died at his home in San Jose on Monday, February 2, 2015 unexpectedly due to a heart attack. Born May 24, 1938 in Oakland, CA to James P. Connolly and Mamie W. Connolly (Glancy), he was a retired engineer and manager whose career spanned 49 years at NASA, managing the design and development of Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and small spacecraft payloads at Ames Research Center. He joined the Peace Corps in 1964, and spent 2 years working on road and building projects in Tanzania. He graduated from Santa Clara University with an MS in Electrical Engineering in 1972 while working full time at NASA.

He is survived by his loving wife Sharon L. Connolly, his son Tim, Tim's wife Susan and their son, Liam; his son Thad; his son Michael Sommese, Michael's wife Lucille and their children Quinn and Harper; also by his Sisters Virginia, of Eureka CA and Jeanette, of Carson City NV.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, if you feel you would like to do something in Jim's name, please make a donation to Sacred Heart Community Service (http://sacredheartcs.org/).

Our family has been connected with Sacred Heart Community Service since the days when Louise Benson managed donations out of her Willow Glen garage. Jim believed strongly in her mission, visited her often, often with his kids in tow, to drop off donations and continued to support her organization his whole life - even after Louise passed away and the organization she started became Sacred Heart Community Service.