New signs honoring the late Rep. Gerry Connolly’s legacy and contributions to Fairfax County, Virginia, were unveiled Saturday along the trail that he led the effort to create.
The more than 40-mile Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail stretches across Fairfax County, connecting parks and communities along the way.
Connolly died on May 21, 2025, after serving Virginia’s 11th Congressional District since 2009. Before going to Congress, he spent 14 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, including five years as chairman.
Connolly’s family joined local leaders at Lake Accotink Park for the unveiling on National Public Lands Day.
Smitty Connolly told WTOP her late husband grew up in an area of Boston without parks. It was an experience that he would carry with him throughout his public service career.
“Jerry got his start in politics right out of college, working for a parks commissioner in Illinois,” she said. And when he served as the chair of the Fairfax board, it passed a resolution to commit to making 10% of Fairfax County parkland.
Smitty said the park near the Oakton Library and the pocket park at the Mosaic District are examples of the importance he placed on including parks as communities developed.
“He understood that where you live is not just about functionality; that it’s about quality of life,” she said. “And he felt that the parks were a place to build community, which mattered a great deal to him.”
Connelly’s family got involved, too.
“When I was about five or six, Dad woke me up and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to go for a walk,’” daughter Caitlin Connolly recalled.
That walk turned out to be more of a scouting mission for what would eventually become the Cross County Trail.
“It was weeds. It was poison ivy. It was brush,” she said. “And I came home filled with scratches.”
Caitlin said walking the trail became a Thanksgiving tradition, and that she and her husband still use it today. Seeing others enjoy the trail as her family did makes the tribute more meaningful, she said.
Asked what her father would think of Saturday’s ceremony, Caitlin Connolly told WTOP, “He would be so touched.”
“It would really mean a lot to him the fact that all these people have come out to celebrate something he worked really hard on for the county,” she said.
For many of the local leaders gathered at Lake Accotink Park, the new signs were also a chance to remember someone they worked with and knew personally. Rep. James Walkinshaw spent 11 years as Connolly’s chief of staff and now holds the 11th District seat Connolly once held.
“If you just spend a little bit of time driving or walking or biking around Fairfax County, you can see his work and his accomplishments,” Walkinshaw said. “Most of us probably don’t know that or think about that, which is how he wanted it to be.”
Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk worked for Connolly years earlier as an aide when Connolly represented the Providence District on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
“What I learned from Gerry is his passion and his commitment to doing the right thing,” Lusk said, “and always looking out for making the community better.”
Braddock District Supervisor Rachna Sizemore Heizer said Connolly never lost sight of the place he called home.
“He wanted to make sure that this community wasn’t just one that survived but thrived,” Sizemore Heizer said. “And green spaces and parks are such a part of a thriving community.”
Not far from the ceremony, people were using the kind of public space Connolly spent decades working to create and preserve. Volunteers were getting ready for an event centered on bugs. A Boy Scout troop gathered around nearby picnic tables.
Fairfax County Park Authority Executive Director Jai Cole said Connelly’s push to preserve open space had a lasting impact on the county.
“We have late Congressman Connolly to thank for the Park Authority becoming the largest landowner in Fairfax County, due in part to his advocacy for open green space and parkland,” Cole said.
Those memories were echoed by Connolly’s family. Near the end of her remarks, Smitty Connolly looked out at all of those faces and choked up.
“I’m grateful to all of you for being out here today and for loving Jerry as much as we did,” she said. “Thank you.”
Source
