Nanette Anderson Connell

Augusta, GA – Nanette “Nan” Anderson Connell, 82, loving wife of 45 years to the late Atticus Jerome “Jack” Connell, Jr, entered into rest on Monday, August 21, 2023.

Nan was a native of Geneva, Illinois, where she was crowned “Miss Swedish” for her hometown as a young girl. She was a graduate of William Woods College in Fulton, Missouri. Following college, she lived in La Hoya, California before moving to Augusta where she met her future husband, Jack. At the time she met Jack she was a strong working woman who took pride in sharing with friends that due to her business acumen she was offered her own franchise. As the wife of a Georgia State Legislator, she was the Leader of Legislative Women in Atlanta and was also past President of the Augusta Symphony Guild in Augusta.

Always classy and sophisticated, Nan was endlessly full of fun and dressed to the nines wherever she went. Friends have fittingly referred to her as “One of Augusta’s Great Ladies”, “One of a kind”, and “A true American original”. Her nicknames at the Clairborne were “Hollywood”, “Movie Star” and “Miss Atlanta”. Nan never met a stranger and she never disliked anyone, managing to always seek, and find, the good in people. In a rare combination, she was every bit as stunningly beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. A woman of great wisdom, she often told her daughter Andrea, “Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy suits and pull out the fine China and silver. Don’t save them for a special occasion because today is special.”

A gourmet cook, Nan delighted in preparing savory dishes for her family and friends providing them with nourishment, comfort and a fine dining experience. A lover of all things fashion, she joyously transported over forty pairs of shoes to Atlanta for the legislative session. While driving Jack and Nan to and from Atlanta for the session, Captain Gene Johnson fondly remembers Jack silently reading his newspaper in the back seat while Nan enthusiastically engaged him in boisterous conversation for the entirety of the over two-hour ride.

The family would like to express our deep gratitude to the management and staff of the Claiborne for their outstanding care for Nan over the past several years and to Betty Murphy for her loving devotion in caring for the Connell family for decades.

Family members include her daughter: Andrea Connell Gibbs (Frank); and grandchildren: Mary “Banks” Eubanks Collier and Atticus “Jack” Connell Collier. In addition to her husband, she is preceded in death by her parents, George and Esther Anderson.

The funeral service will be held Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 11:00 A.M. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church with Rev. Eric Biddy officiating. Interment will be at Summerville Cemetery. The family will receive friends and family following the service at the Wallace House at the Augusta Country Club.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Augusta University Foundation, C/O Steve Hardy, 1120 15th St., AD-1104, Augusta, GA 30912, on memo line: Jack Connell Scholarship 391470( https://www.augusta.edu/giving/gift.php?fund=391470 ); St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 605 Reynolds St., Augusta, GA 30901; Via Cognitive Health: 1901 Central Ave. Augusta, Ga 30904, viacognitivehealth.org

Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com