Plan for the Future
Ruth Schwilk Connon, of Green Village, passed away at Care One in Livingston on September 22, 2021. She was 101.
Born in Madison in 1920 to the late Ruth and Herman Schwilk, her parents instilled in her a love of the outdoors, cars and airplanes. She was a graduate of Madison High School.
Ruth lived her life to have fun and she loved spending time with her father. He was an avid outdoorsman and often took her hunting and fishing. He owned H.R. Schwilk’s Sporting Goods in Madison which later became Alfred’s Sport Shop. He took her on many adventures. He owned an airplane, and would take her flying across the Northeast Seaboard. He also owned sprint race cars, which he competed in at various tracks across northern New Jersey. Ruth worked as a member of his pit crew. When she was seventeen, at the encouragement of her father, she bought a 1903 Haynes Apperson, which is still a cherished family possession to this day.
Ruth married her husband, William Connon, and she and her family moved to Green Village where they lived on the Connon farm, which they lovingly restored over many years. The family continued to collect cars and Ruth was active in the Antique Automobile Club of America and the Ford V8 Club. For her 80th birthday, her sons, Skip and Ward, took her to the time trials for the Indianapolis 500.
Ruth worked in the family real estate business and was active with both the Green Village and New Vernon Fire Department Auxiliaries. She also enjoyed horseback riding.
Ruth was the beloved wife of the late William H. Connon, Jr.; the loving mother of William H. Connon, III and his wife Janet of North East, MD and Ward Connon and his wife Deborah of Green Village; the cherished grandmother of Lauren Camphausen, Krysten Connon and Kathryn Connon; and the devoted great-grandmother of Molly, Sophie and Kyle Camphausen.
