CHEYENNE - Gerald Connolly was best known as a Goshen County judge, but he was also a combat veteran, a dedicated father and the guy who could always spare a few bucks for someone in need.

"He just looked out for people," said Margaret "Peg" Connolly, his wife of 48 years.

Alva Gerald Connolly died last month in Torrington after a battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was 77.

Connolly was from Torrington, and he returned there after completing a 12-month tour in the Korean War, and law school at the University of Wyoming.

A Democrat, he served as Goshen County attorney - edging the Republican candidate by three votes - and later worked in private legal practice in Torrington.

In 1974, Connolly took over as city judge, and in 1975 had the burden of sentencing his own mother after 71-year-old Jennie Connolly crashed her car into a telephone pole. He opted for the standard fine, and the story made the national news.

"That was the overriding thing about dad as a judge and an attorney, was fairness," said son Terry Connolly, of Cheyenne. "Everything had to be fair."

In 1984, Connolly became the first Goshen County judge, a position he held for more than 15 years.

Along the way, he and Peg Connolly had three children, who remember their father as someone who managed to attend every sporting event and school musical, despite his busy schedule as an attorney and judge.

"It was important for him to support his youngsters whatever they were doing," Peg Connolly said.

Connolly was intensely patriotic. He loved his country, and he loved the Marine Corps, his family said.

He didn't talk much about his service in Korea, but he made sure his children were at the cemetery on Veterans Day, and learned the words to the Marine Corps hymn, said daughter Karla Light, who lives in Maryland.

Connolly was also devoted to the First Wyoming United Presbyterian Church. But he wasn't the sort to wear his religion on his sleeve, Peg Connolly said.

"We sat in the seventh pew in our church every Sunday for decades," Terry Connolly said.

A Boy Scout, Connolly introduced both of his sons, Kent and Terry, to scouting, and to the outdoors, which he loved.

Connolly served as scout master for a time, and watched with pride as both Kent and Terry earned the highest rank in scouting, Eagle Scout.

Both sons also followed their father into the military. By a twist of fate, Terry served with Army intelligence in Korea.

"I remember as dad shook my hand he said, "I wish I was going with you,"" Terry Connolly said. "He just knew what an adventure I as about to embark on, and wished he could have relived that, I guess."

As a judge, Connolly was known for his tough love and creative solutions to human problems.

Once when a man appeared before him for taking his ex-wife's car without permission, Connolly ordered the man to turn over his truck to the woman for the same amount of time he had her car.

"He loved to come up with creative solutions to stuff if he could teach a lesson, rather than just fine someone or throw them in jail," said Terry Connolly, who is a lawyer. "He didn't like to put people in jail; it was distasteful to him."

Connolly also had a soft spot for the underdog. Peg Connolly said that may be why he was a life-long Democrat despite living in one of the most heavily Republican areas of Wyoming.

Needy Torrington residents, especially the elderly, knew that Connolly would be there to help when they were struggling to pay the bills, Peg Connolly said.

"They knew they could count on Gerald when the Social Security ran out," she added. "He would have an extra twenty when they needed it."

To stay in shape, Connolly walked to work every day, and he swam laps at the local swimming pool every summer day at 5 a.m.

An avid reader, Connolly prepared himself for any activity by studying about it ahead of time. He also was a student of religion, and spent many years studying the Bible.

"He was a student all his life," Peg Connolly said.

In 2000, Connolly finally stepped down from the bench. His right hand shook from illness and he was no longer able to write legal opinions.

He spent a couple years in retirement tending 80 acres of land near town that had belonged to his father, and working the one horse and four head of cattle that he jokingly referred to as his "herd," Peg Connolly said.

Parkinson's eventually overcame his body, but it could not steal his thoughts. Connolly maintain his sharp analytical mind until the end.

Contact reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at jared.miller@trib.com