Nicholas Charles Connelly

On Wednesday Sept. 19, 2018 Heaven needed a right tackle and Nick Connelly got the call. Nick was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma in June 2018. Burkitt's is a very rare aggressive cancer. Nick was winning the battle through aggressive chemotherapy until the cancer became resistant to all chemo regimens. Nick was a beautiful big strong young athlete with a very kind heart and a great smile. Nick enjoyed his friends, hunting ducks, geese, deer and pheasants with his dad and brothers and eating moms cooking. Nick also enjoyed playing football for his home state Minnesota Golden Gophers. Nick's other enjoyments included snowboarding in the mountains, golfing, sporting clays, grilling, smoking meat and cooking. Nick attended River Valley Church in downtown Minneapolis.
Nick was set to graduate from the U of MN in May with a degree in criminology and hoped to work as a federal agent.
"Our heart breaks and is devastated with losing Nick. We want to thank the thousands of friends, family and complete strangers from across the entire country that extended their prayers, kindness and love to Nick and our family. Nick and we were amazed and appreciative at the amount of public notice for Nicks support.
Nick is survived by his parents, Chuck and Tami Connelly; two brothers, Hunter and Christian; his maternal grandmother, Marty Ander and paternal grandparents, Amy (Joe) Holden along with many aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and teammates.
A celebration of Nick's life will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 30, 2018, at the DQ Club Room at TCF Bank Stadium on the Campus of the University of Minnesota. Doors will open at 2:30 p.m. Please enter at the Benton County Door entrance. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to InFaith Community Foundation, 625 4th Ave S., Suite 1500, Minneapolis, MN 55415 (in memo: Nick Connelly Scholarship Fund) or www.gofundme.com/nick-connelly-2015-scholarship-fund. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.mahnfamilyfuneralhome.com.