Dale Connell was just 19 with 50 cents in his pocket when arrived at the Garlic Capital in 1933.
Little did he know that a lifetime of hard work selling auto parts and being a real estate agent would transform those two quarters into a $1 million endowment that continues to sustain music programs in Gilroy’s elementary schools.
Now, 80 years later, the community is celebrating the legacy of Gilroy’s music benefactor following his passing. The 98-year-old man and his late wife, Ruth, are widely recognized as some of the city’s most influential philanthropists. Their generosity will keep programs such as a music summer school and a choral music program alive and well for generations of future students.
Dale is survived by his son, Larry Connell, 79. Dale’s wife of almost 74 years passed away in 2012.
Sitting in his father’s bungalow in the heart of Gilroy, Larry chuckled as he relayed the story of Dale arriving in Gilroy with less than a dollar to his name. Larry didn’t even know about that story until eight years ago.
Another tale of how Dale got a job cleaning a gas station on his second day in the city continues to astound his son.
“I asked my father how the hell he got a job in 1933 in the Depression in Gilroy,” said Larry.
His father’s response: “It was easy,” he told his son. “I just started down the street asking people if they had any work.”
Being a self-made man who leaves behind a healthy endowment for GUSD music programs is just one aspect of Dale’s multifaceted persona. He was a husband, family man, volunteer, storyteller, philanthropist and teacher.
At Dale’s immaculately maintained home, Larry summed up his father’s raison d’être.
“His big thing was people,” recalled Larry, surveying the mementos of a life well lived.
Dale’s Navy veteran’s baseball caps hang on a wooden stand to the side of a plaque depicting the U.S.S Southern Seas, the Navy vessel on which Dale served during World War II in the Pacific Theater. A world map pinned with Dale’s overseas exploits – the pins stretch from Asia, across the Americas and through Europe into Russia – hangs on the wall.
In another corner, the works of Dickens, Ibsen and Kipling jostle for position on a groaning bookshelf with weighty tomes about business and motivation. An electric shaver sits incongruously next to a stack of papers.
“He was always clean shaven,” noted Larry.
Ring binders full of thank-you letters written to Dale from Rucker Elementary School students in San Martin sit on the edge of a desk. The notes and colorful sketches inside express gratitude for the numerous classroom visits where Dale shared his wisdom about everything from wells to horses.
Dale’s son isn’t the only one missing him.
“It’s just a tremendous loss for us all,” said GUSD Superintendent Debbie Flores, 60, a personal friend.
Flores said the $1 million endowment that Dale and his wife Ruth set up in 2006 for GUSD through the local philanthropic Gilroy Foundation saved elementary school music programs in the district.
“He and Ruth had a vision and they took charge of that vision,” recalled Flores.
By only spending the profits from the investments and never the principle, the endowment will pay in perpetuity for one full-time choir teacher for all GUSD students in grades first through third.
The million-dollar Connell Family Music Fund, on that note, is solely designated for sustaining vocal music programs.
“We’re strong on singing because it’s a non-competitive thing,” Dale explained to the Dispatch in 2006. “Nobody has a better horn than anyone else.”
The task of sustaining Dale and Ruth’s vision rests in the capable hands of Anita Siegel, 75, a music specialist for GUSD. Through songs such as “The Cat Came Back,” “Coming Around the Mountain” and “Draw Me a Bucket of Water,” the Connells’ legacy is brought to life day after day as Siegel imparts the joy of singing to her students. Music allows children to express themselves and develop a sense of self esteem, according to Siegel.
“I love my job, it’s my passion,” she said.
Phil Robb, 60, longtime choral director for Gilroy and Christopher high schools, echoes Flores and Siegel.
“The arts are the reason that kids stay in school,” he said.
As his thoughts turned to the family that he has known for 30 years, Robb spelled out the quality that elevated Dale and Ruth above most others.
“They put their money where their mouths were,” he said.
Dale’s reach into the community and love for the betterment of children was also realized through his extensive work with the Gilroy Rotary Club, of which he was a member for 61 years. Flores, who also belongs to the Rotary, described Dale as “genuine” person whose magnetism drew everyone in.
“The kids just loved it when he arrived. They would run to him,” said Flores, referring to when Dale and other Rotary members volunteered at local schools and read stories to students.
Dale participated in these visits well into his 90s – “basically until he couldn’t do it anymore,” Flores noted.
Back at the Connell’s bungalow, where hanging Geranium baskets on the front porch swing in the breeze, Larry explained what it was like growing up with his father.
“He gave me so much independence that it was absolutely amazing,” recalled Larry, his eyes twinkling.
That Connell eye twinkle is something passed down from his father, according to Executive Director Donna Pray of the Gilroy Foundation. Pray helps oversee and administer the Connell’s endowment, making sure the terms of the fund are strictly adhered to.
“He was very funny,” laughed Pray, 65, as she recalled that pivotal day seven years ago when Dale pretended to be on the fence about donating the $1 million.
All the while, he had previously made up his mind. The money was actually sitting in his pocket.
The ruse was finally blown when Ruth shot her husband a disapproving look and said, “Dale, will you just give her the check!”
As he ventured out into his parent’s pristine garden, pointing out the tire swing hanging from the tree, Larry was lost for a moment in a time gone past as he reminisced about his father’s love of family parties in the garden, amongst the shrubs and citrus trees.
To Larry, the key to his father’s success in life was simple.
“He had that ability to just listen and, you know, just make it with people,” he smiled.
A memorial service for Dale Connell will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 13 at Gilroy Presbyterian Church, located at 6000 Miller Ave. in Gilroy.
