Bulletin E-Edition:
ATV accident claims life of Sisters teen
Stephen Connolly had been hospitalized since June 16
By Scott Hammers / The Bulletin
Published: July 22. 2009 4:00AM PSTStephen
Connolly, 17, died Monday. A memorial service is planned for Thursday in Sisters.
Residents of Sisters will be remembering Sisters High School student Stephen Connolly at a memorial service set for Thursday.
Connolly, 17, died Monday as a result of injuries suffered in an ATV crash on June 16.
Family friend Susan Arends said Connolly had been riding with a friend on back roads outside Sisters when he crashed for undetermined reasons. Although he was wearing a helmet, Connolly suffered brain and brainstem injuries that kept him hospitalized until his death.
Arends said the community rallied to support Connolly and his family, and kept their hopes up by recalling Jovanny Medina, the 19-year-old Madras boxer who staged a surprising recovery after suffering a brain injury earlier this year. In the end, Connolly’s injuries were simply too severe for him to overcome, she said.
“It was such a huge community effort, the hopes and the prayers that the entire community were sending this beautiful family,” Arends said. “He had all the love in the world, but his body was just not able to recover from his injuries.”
Classmate and friend Cassie Hernandez, 16, said Connolly will be missed this fall, when he would have been a junior. He managed to befriend nearly everyone he met, Hernandez said, and could put a smile on your face when you needed it most.
“Stephen was always a very caring personn, and even though he may not have showed it all the time, when you really needed him, he was always there,” Hernandez said. “He was a wonderful friend.”
Connolly played football and lacrosse for Sisters High, and on Tuesday, his lacrosse teammates played a “medicine game” in his honor.
Bill Rexford, Connolly’s coach in both sports, said the medicine game goes back to Iroquois origins of lacrosse, when players would play a special game to “restore balance to the community and bring joy to the creator.”
Rexford said the game was a fitting tribute to Connolly and drew lacrosse players from as far away as Burns.
“Stephen was a super kid. He never wanted to take a play off or take a minute out of the game,” Rexford said. “He loved the camaraderie, just being out there with his teammates. And he was extremely coachable. You tell him what to do and he’d give it his level best.”
Connolly is survived by is parents, Kevin and Nancy Connolly; brother John; sister Meghan; and a close extended family. A celebration of his life will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday at Sisters High School.
ARTICLE ACCESS: This article is among those available to all readers. Many more articles are available only to E-Edition members. Sign up today!
comments powered by Disqus
