Francis Newton "Frank" Connolly
29 Aug 1911 - 9 Jul 1978
bornMesa, Arizona, USA
diedMesa, Arizona, USA
SchooltblData
BiographyOwner/publisher of the Tempe Daily News, 1944-1986.
Got his first taste of the newspaper business as an
8-year-old street salesboy for the Phoenix Gazette in Mesa. Later, he was a carrier for the Arizona Republican and was that newspaper's Mesa
correspondent while still attending high school. He was also president of the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association, 1928-1929.
He attended the University of Arizona, but dropped out to help his family during the Depression. He got jobs in road construction, and a reclamation job with the Salt River Valley Water Users Association. He entered the newspaper business in the early 1930s as a reporter and editor for the Chandler Arizonan.
He first came to Tempe in 1936 to become founding editor of the Southside Progress, a newspaper he later purchased and used to establish the Scottsdale Progress. In 1940, he became the news
bureau chief of Radio KTAR and the Arizona Broadcasting Co., and remained at that post until he acquired the Tempe Daily News in 1944.
He knew many of Arizona's most influential leaders, including Sen. Carl Hayden, John Rhodes, Ernest McFarland, Jack Williams, Bruce Babbitt, and Howard Pyle. He was actively involved in Tempe's growth and development.
Tempe City Councilman, 1954-1956.
President of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce, 1966-67.
He was president of the Tempe Rotary Club, and was exalted ruler of Tempe Elks Lodge 2251. Member of Knights of Pythias and Sigma Chi fraternity. He was on the boards of the United Bank of Arizona, the First Federal Savings and Loan Association, Salvation Army, Maricopa Southside TB and Health Association, Tempe Community chest, and Tempe Girls Clubs. In 1974 he served on the Arizona Highway Commission. He was president of the Arizona Newspapers Association in 1952. In 1963, he was a member of the Valley Beautification Committee and the Planning and Construction
Committee of Maricopa County General Hospital.
He was awarded the "Master Editor-Publisher" award by the Arizona Newspaper Association in 1971.
Connolly Junior High School, at 2002 Concorda Drive, was named in honor of he and his wife.
Over 700 mourners attended his funeral. Following the service, Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell proclaimed July 12, 1978, as Francis N. Connolly Memorial Day.
BIO-Connolly
TH-311
Smith, Tempe; Arizona Crossroads, p. 174
Double Butte Cemetery, Tempe
Person TypeIndividual
