Eleanor (Gerti) Hammes Connell, died on December 9, 2023, at the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital in Seneca.

Eleanor was born on June 27, 1926 to Joe and Emma (Huerter) Wichman on a farm south of Seneca. Her family moved to Seneca in 1937, when Eleanor was in 5th grade. She graduated from Sts. Peter & Paul High School in 1944.

Eleanor married Eugene Hammes on November 3, 1948 at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Gene and Eleanor had four children Dan (Shirley Glissman) Seneca, Alice (Ted Trower) Ann Arbor, MI., Doug (Ronda Rohlmeier) and Jim (Julie Hammes) Seneca; and celebrated 38 years of marriage.

Eleanor worked at the A & P grocery store until 1950, at which time she only worked only time for a few years. Most of her adult life she was a homemaker and did the bookkeeping for Gene's trucking business. Eleanor was a member of Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church and the St. Ann's Altar Society.

Her hobbies included playing cards, puzzles, gardening and her spending time with her family. She and Gene enjoyed traveling and did so frequently prior to his death. Gene passed away on July 16, 1987 and Eleanor remarried July 29, 2006 to David Connell of Leavenworth. They had 10 wonderful years together until David passed away July 20, 2017.

Besides her parents, husbands, she was preceded in death by her son, Dan on July 12, 2018; brothers, Joe Wichman on December 30, 1995 and Don Wichman on May 9, 2005; and a sister, Jean Scott on September 4, 1999.

Eleanor had nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren, her step-family includes step-children David L. Connell Jr., Steve Connell, Clarice A. Phillips, Carol M Hayes all of Leavenworth, Michael A. Connell (Kansas City, Missouri), John A Connell (Browns Summit, North Carolina), Karen A Bouwman (Sharpsburg, Georgia), Linda M. Moore (Fort Worth, Texas), 21 step-grandchildren and 20 step-great-grandchildren.

A rosary will be prayed at 7 P.M. on Monday, December 11, 2023 at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 AM on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca. The burial will be in church cemetery, and she will be laid to rest next to her husband Gene.

Memorials can be given in Eleanor- memory to the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital Building Fund, and sent in care of the family.

To express your sympathy and for more information visit www.lauerfuneralhome.com .