Louise W. McConnell (1917-2009)

With deepest sadness, I learned on Sunday March 15 that Louise McConnell passed from us. She was the widow of Reverend Merle McConnell, Chieftain Twin Silver Moccasins. (Some of you reading this will wonder at the nickname mentioned for Merle. You will need to keep in touch with my blog for further explanation.) The similarity of her husband’s name and mine is no coincidence. This has been an honor for me my whole life.

Some seemingly more enlightened ones might protest when a lady’s name or life is tied to that of a man, but in Louise and Merle’s case, they were inseparable up to his death in 1987 and even beyond. When you saw, or referred to one, you knew the other was close by. Louise was his loyal wife from 1937 to 1987. This did not mean she was not her own person. As Tom Haley said in her eulogy, “Louise was a liberated woman, before it was a popular phrase.” She was the wife of the minister of Lee’s Summit Christian Church, but she was not only a minister’s wife.

Louise personified class and dignity in everything she did. She taught the Standby Sunday School class at the Lee’s Summit Christian Church. This was a class of elderly ladies and she was the perfect match for their wit and energy. While her husband Merle was very active in Boy Scouting and at the Scout camp at Osceola Missouri, Louise only ventured to camp once to visit Merle. In her words, “It is just bugs and dust down there, why would I want to go?”

Many at her memorial spoke of her always writing thank you notes and keeping in touch. She was very organized to the point that she left specific instructions for Reverend Haley as to how she wanted the scripture read at her funeral.

In addition to her class and dignity, she also had a fiery side to her. Her granddaughter Lori shared a time when Louise had a word or two with a teacher who had not treated Lori just right, in her eyes. I’m sure she set this lady straight. One of my strongest memories of Louise was one Sunday in church during the summer, the choir was not present. The congregation was singing “Bless Be the Tie That Binds.” The song was dragging much slower than it should and Louise who was sitting in front of my mother, turned and protested, “They need to do something to pick up the tempo!” as she waved her hand in a much faster time than the song was proceeding.

Louise will be missed by anyone whose life she touched. She will always be remembered as the wife of Merle McConnell, but also as her own person, Louise W. McConnell.

IYDYW