Kent Connell

Kent Connell

The following tribute is in memory of Kenton Patrick Connell of Brandon, Manitoba, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on December 9th, 2025.

Kent was born on May 23rd, 1963, in Swan River, Manitoba, the youngest son of Ken and Patricia Connell. His early years were spent in Bowsman. When he was eight, the family moved to Minnedosa, where he completed his schooling, participating in ball, hockey and Air Cadets, which ignited a life-long passion for military history and enabled him to obtain his pilot’s license. After graduation, he briefly followed in his dad’s footsteps working for the Manitoba Pool Elevator Company. He then studied Environmental Sciences at Lethbridge Community College in Lethbridge, Alberta and subsequently worked at various positions in Alberta. In 1995 he returned to Manitoba, where he met his future wife, Shirley Bambridge. After working at various companies and obtaining his Class 1 license, he was engaged as a dispatcher at Gardewine Trucking in Brandon, where he remained for the past twenty years until the time of his passing.

In July of 1997, Kent and Shirley were married. They were devoted to each other, and together created a home filled with love and contentment, where everyone was welcomed with a cup of coffee and felt completely at home. They shared an avid love of sports. Kent was a dedicated fan of the Boston Bruins, Toronto Blue Jays, Saskatchewan Roughriders and especially the Brandon Wheat Kings. He and Shirley rarely missed a home game and developed some great friendships with fellow season ticketholders.

Kent’s interest in, and knowledge of military history, particularly the Air Force, persisted throughout his life, and he had a truly impressive collection of books on the topic. He did some work with the Commonwealth Air Training Museum at Brandon Airport and had been looking forward to volunteering there in his retirement. He also enjoyed woodworking, and family members were often the appreciative recipients of his projects.

Kent is survived by Shirley, his wife of 28 years, his sister Pam (John) Mullen, brother Kim (Trish) Connell, brothers- and sisters-in-law Wilma (Darrel) Sletmoen, Colin (Cathy) Bambridge, Bill (Maureen) Bambridge, Betty (Curtis) Borsa, and Susan (Kevin) Vovchuk, and numerous much-loved nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

Kent was laid to rest on December 17th, 2025. He was predeceased by his baby daughter Maggie in 1999, parents Ken and Pat Connell, mother- and father-in-law Beth and Tom Bambridge, and brother Blair.

Kent was a kind and caring man who lived his life with humility, integrity and a quiet but firm faith. No one better understood the importance of family, and he embraced everyone in the Connell and Bambridge families with love and generosity. His time with us was much shorter than we ever imagined, but we will forever be grateful that he was in our lives.