Tribute: Connie (In Memorium, for Connie)
Connie was the purveyor of Local 6215 faces, words, and events for most of her adult life. In her own quiet way, she was a cornerstone of our local union office, just as much as Gene Vance, James Holbrook, Frank Crow, J.D. Williams, James Allen, and Carrol Magee were. She was always there, and she was there as the local shifted into a higher level of activism as leadership evolved. She didn't make speeches, she wasn't an extrovert, but she was always there, taking pictures of us at meetings, events, picket lines, picnics, conferences, and conventions. Still there, maybe you didn't see her, but she was there recording history.
When I first met Connie, she was a single mom. She always talked about her boys, and they were seen with her at union functions. Raising boys alone were and is no easy feat, but she did it successfully, and they all turned into good men. She provided a good life for them and made sacrifices along the way as single moms have to do, but she never complained about it.
I worked closely with Connie as co-editor of the Unioneer. That was when I learned the secrets that she had been hiding. You could never really know her until you did. She had a protective shield up most of the time. I found out that she had a great sense of humor. She could smile or laugh a haha laugh, but she was also capable of out of control laughter, and that was when I enjoyed her the most. We were very similar except that I spoke my mind and simmered, and Connie just kept most things to herself. She was a very kind person, a very giving person, to a fault maybe, but she would never turn her back on you, and she was always there if you needed her. She was never one to be at the head of the line; her comfort zone was the one walking behind methodically supporting whatever the cause might be. Don't get me wrong, if you made her mad enough, she would let you know. I never experienced that, but I had seen the other Connie when she was madder than a hornet's nest. I liked easygoing Connie much better.
Working together, we could get into mischief occasionally. There was an occasion where she decided to get someone's attention in a roundabout way. The plan was we would send her flowers from an anonymous person to make someone jealous. We drove to McShann's Florist, and she placed the order to be delivered later in the day, publicly. It was my job to write the card to go on the flowers. I filled out 3 cards, and she chose the one she liked the best. For some stupid reason, I stuck the other 2 in my purse. The flowers were delivered, and our evil plot worked; jealousy prevailed. Several weeks later, I went to Norman, Oklahoma, to attend a week-long training session for chief stewards. When I returned home, my husband at the time met me at the door with those 2 McShann's cards, demanding to know what man sent them. I was taken aback at first, then I started laughing hysterically. That only made him madder. I tried to explain what happened, but he never believed me. When I returned to the union hall the following Monday, I told Connie what happened. First, she was aghast, and then she started laughing, and I started laughing, we had tears running down our faces, our sides were hurting; that is how I will remember her. Smiling, laughing until her face was red, holding her side and tears streaming down her cheeks.
Connie and her husband traveled to Memphis, where we enjoyed 2 concerts, Ringo Starr and his Allstar Band and the Beach Boys. We had so much fun, Especially at the Beach Boy Concert where I think we both lost our minds, dancing, and singing and acting like fools. We crammed in as many things to do as we could in a short period of time. It was epic.
The last time I saw Connie was when I traveled to Dallas for James Allen's funeral. That was the first funeral I had been to since my son died, and somehow I got lost in the sadness of it. Connie rescued me before I really knew what I was doing. That's the kind of person she was.
My last words are commending Connie on the love for her family, her kids, and grandkids. She was devoted to them all. She would do and did do everything with them or for them. Her devotion to all of them was remarkable. Clearly, she was the family rock, their tower of strength, the glue that kept them all together. I am so sorry for their loss of this remarkable, caring, vibrant, loving wife, mom, and grandmother. I deeply regret that she was taken away from them so soon.
Those who know and love her will never fully heal from this loss. We must keep her memory alive.
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