Torrie Ahern Connelly was the wife of Ken Curtis. Torrie Ahern Connelly’s husband was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the CBS Western television series Gunsmoke. Before joining the cast of Gunsmoke permanently as Festus in “Prairie Wolfer”, season 9 episode 16, he appeared on Gunsmoke earlier in other roles, he was first cast as Festus in season 8 episode 13, December 8, 1962 “Us Haggens.”
Torrie Ahern Connelly: Bio Summary
| Name | Torrie Ahern Connelly |
| Famous as | wife of Ken Curtis |
| Date of Birth | 31 Jul 1929 |
| Birthplace | Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, USA |
| Age | 68 years old at the time of death |
| Date of death | 2 November 1997 |
| Ethnicity | white |
| Nationality | American |
| Zodiac Sign | Leo |
| Parents | George Phillip Ahern – Father Pat Huntsman Gillespie – Mother |
Who was the wife of Ken Curtis?
Torrie Ahern Connelly was born on July 31, 1929, the daughter of George Daniel Ahern and “Pat” Huntsman Ahern Gillespie. Torrie Ahern was born in Salt Lake City, UT, and she passed away on November 2, 1997, at her home in Fresno, surrounded by family and friends. Torrie had a half siblings- Mary ‘Charlotte’ Ahern Jensen.
Torrie Ahern Connelly was the third woman the actor took to the alter. Before Torrie, he married Lorraine Page in 1943 before the marriage collapsed a few years later. The actor then tied the knot with Barbara Ford in 1952 and they ended it in 1964.
Ken Curtis then met Connelly. The couple tied the knot on 12 March 1966 in Clark, Nevada, United States in a beautiful ceremony in the presence of their friends, family, and loved ones. They were married until he died in 1991. Before Curtis, Connelly was married to James Alexander Connelly.
Aside from being the helpmate to her beloved Ken “Festus” Curtis for almost 30 years, she was also described as the soul of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Community for 20 years before that. According to her obituary, Connelly was described as someone who quickly turned a stranger into an acquaintance and then into a devoted friend. Being her friend even briefly was described to be blessed with her constancy, dedication, humor, generosity, and faith in others.
Torrie was preceded in death by her husbands, Lex Connelly and Ken Curtis. Curtis died on April 28, 1991, in his sleep of a heart attack in Fresno, California. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Colorado flatlands.
Ken Curtis’s wife Torrie Ahern Connelly as said earlier passed away on 2 Nov 1997 at the age of 68 in Resno, Fresno County, California, USA. Torrie Ahern Connelly was laid to rest at Acadamy cemetery in Clovis, Fresno County, California, USA
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She was survived by her son, William of Salt Lake City, UT; daughter, Danny of Weatherford, TX; eight grandchildren; sisters, Doris Gillespie Hall of Salt Lake City, UT; Charlotte Ahern Jensen; Kris Ahern Livreri and Julie Frank, all of Las Vegas, NV.
In 1981, Ken Curtis was honored with an induction into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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The actor’s last acting role was as the aging cattle rancher “Seaborn Tay” in the television production Conagher (1991), by Western author Louis L’Amour. Sam Elliott starred in the lead role, and Curtis’ Gunsmoke co-star Buck Taylor (Newly O’Brien) played a bad man in the same film. Buck Taylor’s father, Dub Taylor, had a minor role in it. He joined the Gunsmoke cast in 1967, superseding the previous deputy, Thaddeus “Thad” Greenwood, played by Roger Ewing.
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