Funeral Arrangements Set for Departed Soldier McConnell

The final journey for U.S. Army Spc. Derek McConnell is set. 

McConnell, who lived in Parsippany, died Monday of causes yet to be announced.

A viewing for the soldier will be held Monday, April 1, from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Par-Troy Funeral Home, 92 Parsippany Road in Parsippany, according to his mother, Siobhan Fuller-McConnell.

A funeral mass will be held in North Caldwell Tuesday, April 2 at 11 a.m., where he lived as a youth, at Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church, 359 Central Ave. 

McConnell, 23, was  after being hit by an improvised explosive device while patrolling in the Zahri District in Kandahar. He lost his legs and suffered other serious injuries that kept him in recovery in Maryland for months. 

He returned to his Parsippany home to a hero’s welcome in late 2012.

Some of the proceeds from the second annual Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run in 2012 in Wayne were given to McConnell and his family.

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