In the early hours of Monday, November 13, 2023 Helen Connery passed comfortably while surrounded by her loved ones after succumbing to a long fight with dementia.
Billie was born Helen MacLean, and was raised in Rensselaer, NY, where she once met a “worldly” US Navy sailor named John “Bud” Connery. They were wed and Billie ended up bravely tolerating Bud’s shenanigans and tom-foolery for the next 57 years until his passing in December 2021.
Billie had loved John to no end, something that she never forgot even in the face of her disease. She was a homemaker, fierce protector, and patient teacher to her children Lorraine Ann, Mary Kathleen, and Sean Michael. As you may have guessed by those names,, she was proud of her Irish background and was an active member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians where she could often be found laughing with Bud at his attempts at musicality.
She was a singer of songs and show-tunes, an Irish step and set dancer, a baker of pies, and maker of jams and jellies. Her kindness, boundless sense of humor, and generosity of spirit made her a true friend to her peers and surrogate parent to may of her children’s friends. Billie is survived by her children and she will be missed terribly by those who know her.