Constance Connolly Platt died December 31, 2014 at her home in Missoula, Montana. She was 86. She was born September 15, 1928 in Springfield, Illinois, the daughter of Leo Albert Connolly and Beatrice Key Connolly. The family, which included her older brother, Dale Leon Connolly, moved to Taylorville, Illinois in 1934. She attended Taylorville schools, graduating from Taylorville Township High School in 1946. She attended Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington for two years and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1951. She taught elementary school for six years: one year in South San Francisco, California, one year in Springfield, Illinois, three years in Urbana, Illinois and another year in Springfield, Illinois. She married George Mattox Platt on December 27, 1952 in Springfield, Illinois. Mr. Platt then attended Law School at the University of Illinois while Mrs. Platt taught school in Urbana for those three years. They returned to Springfield in 1956. Three children were born to them: Ellen Jo Platt, on February, 2, 1959; Thomas Morton Platt on August 3, 1960; and Daniel Mattox Platt, on May 26, 1962. They moved to Olympia, Washington for a short time in 1963-64, but returned to Springfield, Illinois. However, they liked the Northwest and when, in 1966, Mr. Platt was offered a position on the faculty of the School of Law at the University of Oregon, they were happy to move to Eugene, Oregon. Mr. Platt was on the law faculty for 30 years and died in Eugene on April 12, 2010. A son, Daniel Platt died November 8, 2005, in Missoula, Montana. Mrs. Platt, then with declining health decided to move to a retirement community in Missoula, Montana where her son Tom and his family live. The family is grateful for the kindness and support of Hospice of Missoula and Dr. Meg Carnegie at the time of her passing. Mrs. Platt’s parents, Leo and Beatrice Connolly also moved to Eugene from Springfield in 1968, and her brother Dale Connolly and his family (wife Donna Carroll Rhodes of Taylorville, Illinois) moved to Eugene in 1969. Beatrice Connolly died in Eugene January 6, 1986 and Leo Connolly died there on February 15, 1987. Dale’s family moved to the Seattle area in 1974; he died in Oostende, Belgium in April of 1993. All three are buried in the Laurel Grove Cemetery in Eugene, Oregon. Mrs. Platt is survived by her daughter Ellen Platt (Terry Rogers) of San Jose, California and her son, Thomas Platt (Jennifer Ferenstein) and one grandchild, George Emmett Platt, of Missoula, Montana. Her four nieces, Deborah Haskett (Bill), Jennifer Raney (Roger), Carroll Warner (Jeff) and Susan Mansfield all live in the Seattle area. Her nephew, Phillip Bradley (Sylvia) and their two daughters reside in Springfield, Illinois.
It is with great sadness that we share of the news that James Getty, one of the country’s most renowned Abraham Lincoln presenters, passed away September 26th, 2015 in Gettysburg. He received his Bachelors of Education Degree (Music) and his Master of Music Degree from Illinois Wesleyan University. Jim met his wife Joanne at IWU, and they married on Jan. 19, 1952 in Grandview, Ill. For the past four decades, Getty’s full-time vocation was the study and portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. Over the years, Jim touched countless thousands of lives with his vast knowledge of all-things Lincoln. Getty would often present his programs over 500 times each year to visitors to Gettysburg, and to students in schools. Jim later developed a leadership presentation specifically for corporate executives and government leaders, where audiences were able to capture the lessons of history and apply them in today’s business environments.
