Constance "Connie" Joanne (Hanlon) Roberts 1948 - 2019

HANLON, ROBERTS, PEDERSEN

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 2/22/2020 at 19:59:16

Sioux City Journal
7 December 2019

Sioux Falls, S.D., formerly Sioux City

Constance "Connie" Joanne (Hanlon) Roberts, 71, of Sioux Falls, formerly Sioux City, passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 1, 2019 in Naples, Fla.

Service will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Michael Catholic Church in Sioux Falls. Visitation will begin 5 p.m. Monday, with a Scripture vigil at 6:30 p.m., at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of Barnett-Lewis Funeral Home in Sioux Falls (barnett-lewis.com).

Connie was born July 11, 1948, to James and Beverly (Pedersen) Hanlon in Sioux Falls. Her family moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where she attended Blessed Sacrament Elementary School and graduated from Bishop Heelan Catholic High School in 1966.

After graduation, Connie attended the University of South Dakota, where she followed in her mother’s footsteps as a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. It was here at USD, where she met the love of her life, Jim Roberts, across a booth at the Varsity Pub. It was love at first sight and after eight months of dating, they were engaged. They were united in marriage on July 27, 1968, at Blessed Sacrament Church in Sioux City.

Connie went on to become a strong advocate for deaf and hard of hearing children in both her personal and professional life upon learning that her youngest daughter, Katie, was deaf. She returned to complete her bachelor’s degree in special education by commuting to USD while raising their four children.

During her time in Sioux Falls, Connie was active in her church as well as many other organizations. She was a founding member of St. Michael Parish, and she and Jim were inaugural little parish leader members. Another passion of hers was watching her sons grow up playing hockey. During this time, she became very involved in the Sioux Falls Youth Hockey Association and served on many committees including one term as the president of the association.

Grateful for having shared her life is her husband of 51 years, Jim of Sioux Falls; daughter, Lisa (Phil) Loving of Sioux Falls; sons, Brian (Shawna) Roberts of Corning, Iowa, and Kevin (Hallie) Roberts of Victoria, Minn.; and daughter, Katie (Kris) Hopkins Roberts of Seattle, Wash.; grandchildren, Hannah, Chloe, Sadie and Jesse Loving, Duncan, Jacob, Brody, Tyler, Madyson and Isabella Roberts, and Fitzgerald Hopkins Roberts; siblings, Julie (Larry) Armiger of Omaha, Mike Hanlon of Sioux Falls, Mary (Tommy) Thompson of Le Mars, Iowa, Pat (Rhonda) Hanlon, Tom (Lisa) Hanlon, Kevin (Tracy) Hanlon, and Betsy (Jeff) McIntyre, all of Sioux Falls; her in-laws, Kay (Kerry) Kasulka of Sioux Falls, Diane (Bill) Tschetter of Rapid City, S.D., and Tom (Linda) Roberts of Sioux Falls; special friends, Mike and Mary McGuinn of Naples, Fla.; and numerous nephews and nieces.

Connie is preceded in death by her parents, Jim and Bev Hanlon; her in-laws, Ken Roberts and Irv and Dorothy (Roberts) Engelbrecht; brother-in-law, Lyle Magorien; and nephew, Jimmy Magorien.

The family requests in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hanlon Family Memorial Scholarship fund created in her parents' honor at the Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools Foundation (https://www.ogknights.org/giving/bishop-og-foundation).