OBITUARY: NEWMARKET (NH) — Denise Donnell Connors died at home on July 17, 2011, after a long illness.

Denise was born on Nov. 5, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Pa., where she spent her youth, graduating in 1963 from St. Lawrence O'Toole High School and in 1966 from St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing as a registered nurse. An avid scholar, Denise continued her studies at Duquesne University and Boston College, where she received master's degrees in both community health and psychiatric mental health nursing. In 1986, she earned a doctorate of sociology from Brandeis University with a focus on the sociology of health and illness.

Denise's nursing career spanned a period of 40 years. It included working in intensive care at both St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh and the New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston; as a nursing instructor with the Boston Public Schools practical nursing program; and as a nursing professor at Fitchburg State College and the nursing faculties of the University of New Hampshire and the University of Southern Maine. In recent years, she worked as a psychotherapist in group practices in Portsmouth and Durham, N.H. Most recently, she was a staff nurse at the Portsmouth Regional Hospital Behavioral Health Unit.

Denise was a member of the South Church Unitarian Universalist community in Portsmouth, where she served as an instructor in the young church program for a number of years. Eventually, she became a committed Buddhist and an active member of the Aryaloka Buddhist Center community in Newmarket, where she was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2010.

Denise is survived by her beloved daughter, Rose Connors Crowley and her life partner of 30 years, Margaret A. Crowley, both of Newmarket.

Additional survivors include her brother, Daniel S. Connors Jr. and his wife, Nancy (Trimarkie) Connors of Atlanta, Ga.; sister, Diane K. Connors of Pittsburgh, Pa.; nephew, Daniel S. Connors III and his wife, Bonnie, of Sudbury, Mass., and nieces, Brianna McDonough of Pittsburgh, Pa., Kelly A. (Connors) Phipps and her husband, Bob, of Atlanta and Bridget Rierson, also of Atlanta.

In addition, she is survived by sister-in-law, Cate (Crowley) Horton and her husband, Stuart, of Bethany, Conn.; brother-in-law, Patrick K. Crowley and his wife, Camille, of Portsmouth, and sister-in-law, Mary Crowley and her husband, Noel, of Melbourne, Fla. Survivors also include three great-nieces, myriad cousins, and many friends.

She was predeceased by her parents, Daniel Stephen Connors and Rosemary (O'Donnell) Connors of Pittsburgh, Pa.

A celebration of Denise's life will take place in August.

If desired, donations may be made in Denise's memory to Amy's Treat (www.amystreat.org). Amy's Treat is an independent community organization dedicated to providing help to people undergoing treatment for cancer and their families. Amy's Treat coordinates with the professionals at the Seacoast Cancer Center in Dover to provide whatever services, assistance, and "treats" may help these patients and their families deal with one of life's most stressful situations.

Published in Fosters from July 21 to July 22, 2011