RSVP for Joel’s funeral and reception
Tuesday, April 21st, 2026
Friends, thank you again for all of the condolences and messages of sympathy.
We appreciate everyone who has taken the time to share how much Joel meant to them.
Joel’s funeral service and reception will be at noon on Thursday, May 14th, 2026, at St. James Cathedral in Seattle.
If you would like to attend, please follow the link to EverLoved to RSVP. Letting us that know you will be attending will help with our planning and hospitality preparations, including reception refreshments. You can also use EverLoved to share condolences and memories.
— Melissa, Aaron, and Bellamy Pailthorp
A statement from Joel’s family
Wednesday, April 15th, 2026
It is with great sadness that we share the news that our stepfather, Joel Connelly, died this morning, peacefully, with his immediate family by his side.
Many of you know Joel had been struggling with his health these past few years, but as he would quickly note: “Above the shoulders, I’m just fine.” One of his goals was to keep on writing, with particular focus on saving our democracy. He was writing up to the day his body failed him.
We are sorry that he wasn’t able to accomplish his other goal, hoping to witness the Trump regime’s demise.
We are working on plans for a celebration of his life and a memorial service, and will provide updates once we have more details to share.
Thank you for the many thoughts and prayers we’ve received from near and far.
— Melissa, Aaron and Bellamy Pailthorp
Gallery: Joel in action through the years
Obituary
Joel Connelly, widely known and revered as the dean of political journalists in the Northwest, died at age 78 on April 15th, 2026. The cause of death was complications from diabetes. A longtime resident of the Madrona neighborhood, Connelly recently moved to Horizon House, where he cultivated friendships with his health aides and neighbors. He died amidst his beloved family.
Typical of his dedication to reporting, the week of his death also saw the publication of his last article, on Alaska’s 2026 United States Senate race, which ran in The Cascadia Advocate, the Northwest Progressive Institute’s primary publication, and the writers’ collective Post Alley. Funeral services will be noon, May 14th, at Connelly’s church, St. James Cathedral, followed by a reception.
Connelly described himself as “a cradle conservationist,” fond of the wilderness and often defending it in his stories. Before his body weakened, Connelly often visited Denali in Alaska, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (with pal Tim Egan), and knew by name most of the peaks and trails in the Cascades and the Canadian ranges. He was fond of national political conventions and primaries, particularly in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Respected by Hearst corporation executives, whose Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper he served for forty-seven years, his articles would often be spread across the company’s newspaper chain nationwide. He was a diligent worker at his craft, able “to get anybody on the phone,” in the words of his editor David McCumber. Governor Bob Ferguson called Connelly “our state’s premier political analyst.”
Connelly grew up in Bellingham, where his journalist and activist mother, Dolly, would often take him into the wilderness of Mount Baker. His father was Joe Connelly, who worked on the Bellingham waterfront. The senior Connellys intended to move to Victoria, British Columbia, but only got as far as Bellingham, where Joel went to the local high school on his way to Notre Dame. His mother was a freelance reporter and photographer and advocate for the wilderness like her son. Connelly’s partner for many years until her death in 2002 was lawyer/activist Mickie Pailthorp, whose children, Melissa, Bellamy (an environmental reporter for KNKX), and Aaron were close to their stepfather and often shared his second home on Whidbey Island. Bellamy said of her stepfather that he often defended “a part of the world that is not yet wrecked.”
Connelly was celebrated for his amazingly detailed recall of political stories. One editor, Mike Seely, said Connelly was “Seattle’s version of the Smithsonian.” He enjoyed regaling audiences with his well-told stories of private dealings of politicians and pooh-bahs in the region. One of his specialties was Canadian politics, stemming from his graduate study at the University of Washington. He enjoyed fixing epithets to his sources, such as “Congressman-for-life Jim McDermott,” “the Arm Flapper” (Governor Mike Lowry) and “Tweety-Bird” (Senator Patty Murray).
Connelly was a “reporter-for-life,” who lived, right up to his body failed him, to report and write and be surrounded by friends. He was the rare political journalist who was well-loved by his sources and young reporters for his fairness, accuracy, and bonhomie. As he once said, “I cherish the job that I do, but I also cherish the people I’m doing it with.”