Commander Connelly D. Stevenson, USN (Ret.), died of heart and liver failure in Longview, WA, on 15 December 2008. Born on 10 March 1934, Con was raised in Vermont, where his parents operated an inn. Prior to receiving a congressional appointment to the Naval Academy, he attended the University of New Hampshire for one year.

Con graduated with the Class of 1956 as a member of the 13th Company. Upon graduation, he crewed on the USNA yacht, HIGHLAND LIGHT in the Newport-Bermuda race. Con then reported to RENSHAW (DDE-499) in Pearl Harbor. Upon completion of Submarine School in 1957, he returned to Pearl to serve on GREENFISH (SS-351), GUDGEON (SS-567) and SABALO (SS-302) and on ComSubPac staff. Con attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, earning a master’s in physics in 1964 and was elected to Sigma Xi, a national research honorary society. After nuclear power training, Con served as ops officer and navigator on SCORPION (SSN-589) (1965-1967), homeported  in Norfolk, VA. He was back in Pearl as XO of HALIBUT (SSN-587) (1967-1969). Con was awarded the Legion of Merit for his performance on HALIBUT during secretive and dangerous missions. After a tour at Submarine School (1969-1971) and short tours at ComSubLant and the Atomic Energy Commission, Con commanded FINBACK (SSN-670) for three and a half years. From 1976 to 1978, he headed the Office of Naval Research in London, which studied European technological developments for application to the U.S. Navy. Con retired in July 1978.

Following his Navy retirement, he spent 12 years as a manager for Logistics Management Institute in Washington, DC, directing research into defense energy policies. Con then became a consultant for high-level radiation waste programs until 1995, when he retired again and moved to Sarasota, FL, where he was active in his community working with children as a Guardian ad Litem. In October 2008, Con took a temporary assignment with Siemens as their port coordinator in Longview, WA, overseeing the import of wind turbines. Con was always an avid sailor, and enjoyed kayaking, opera and reading. He is survived by his daughter, Hillary Tattersall of Potomac Falls, VA; son, Ian of Davis, CA; four grandchildren; two brothers; and companion,  Janice Sladzinski of Sarasota, FL. In accordance with his wishes, he was cremated and his ashes scattered on the waters off of Florida. Con lived a full, elegant life, was a true sailor and a good classmate. Dick Levendoski