Carol Ann (Bonner) Connell Obituary

Carol Ann (Bonner) Connell, age 87, died peacefully with her family by her side, on June 8, 2023, at the McCarthy Care Center of East Sandwich.

Born on August 25, 1935, Carol was the devoted daughter of former Boston Fire Department Lieutenant and respected Irish tenor Francis J. Bonner and homemaker Gertrude (Curran) Bonner. Raised in Roslindale and West Roxbury within a family of loving aunts and uncles, Carol attended elementary school at the former St. Francis Xavier Academy and graduated from Mount Saint Joseph Academy and Regis College.

She married Brendan Martin Connell of Roslindale in 1957. Over the next 30 years, the couple raised five children in Andover, Taunton, Westwood, Barrington (RI) and Longmeadow. In the 1970s, Carol began a career as a secondary school English teacher at Ludlow High School in Ludlow (MA) where she specialized in teaching English as a Second Language. In her gentle, attentive, and caring way, she empowered immigrant students from around the world to succeed in their new lives in America through the power of education. Carol continued her support for learning in serving on the admissions staff at Babson College where she specialized in International Student Admissions. During these years, Carol and Brendan established homes in Natick and in Pocasset on Cape Cod. After Brendan passed away in 1997, Carol made Pocasset her permanent home and formed an active and heartfelt connection to the people and natural beauty of the region.

Carol’s devout faith was her bedrock and inspiration for engaging her world. She was a beloved and admired member of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Pocasset where she established the parish Welcome Center, volunteered as a Wedding Service Facilitator, and supported those in need as a member of the St. John’s Ladies Guild. She also volunteered to read to children at the Peebles Elementary School in Pocasset, where boys and girls felt nurtured by her kind and maternal grace. Carol loved each of the schools she attended in her youth. She was an energetic alumna of every institution through which she formed treasured friendships, particularly at Regis College, where she was a member of the Alumnae Board, a class officer, and a class fund agent. An avid reader with a sharp, inquisitive mind, Carol was a passionate bridge player who participated for many years in bridge groups in Pocasset where neither inclement weather nor physical difficulties interrupted the game. Carol’s fortitude and strength of character conquered the challenges of Multiple Sclerosis which she nobly navigated for over 40 years.

Carol was predeceased by her husband Brendan M. Connell, her baby son Christopher and her brother Robert F. Bonner. She is survived by five children: Brenda O’Brien (Thomas) of Scituate, MA, Susan McCann (Michael) of Fairhaven, MA, Carolyn Eichhorn (Kurt) of Westport, CT, Brendan, Jr. (Rich Yeung) of Los Angeles and David of Washington, D.C., five grandchildren: Kelly O’Connell (Will), Colleen and Mary Grace McCann, Anna and William Eichhorn, step-great grandsons Luke and Jase, and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. She is also survived by her beloved sister-in-law Patricia Bonner.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Monday, June 12, 2023 at 10am at St. John the Evangelist Church, 841 Shore Road, Pocasset, MA, and will be immediately followed by a reception in the Church Hall. The Burial will occur at the New Westwood Cemetery, 877-881 High Street, Westwood, MA at 2pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to the Greater New England chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society ( or the Massachusetts chapter of the ALS Association (https://www.als.org/massachusetts).

For directions and online guestbook visit www.chapmanfuneral.com.