Cecelia Connelly

Class of:  2001

(deceased) Cecelia (mother of 10) was certified in 1972, became an instructor in 1976 and , up until the time of her illness in March 2002, was the YMCA's oldest active female instructor. She was a Gold Star instructor who had trained over 500 students and logged over 1000 hours underwater on 2000+ dives. Her most memorable accomplishments included diving the Andrea Doria, testifying at Gentile vs. NOAA USS Monitor hearings and helping to open the site for recreational divers, working with the Atlantic Alliance (Cross Creek, NJ), her participation in underwater archaeological work in Caesarea, Israel, and helping to recover the only intact canal barge in the US. Cecelia died on Feb. 14 2003