Sparta Fundraises For Teacher And Coach Recovering From Stroke

SPARTA, NJ — A GoFundMe drive is in process for a longtime Sparta resident, who is now recovering from a stroke.

According to the GoFundMe Page his sister Debby Connors set up on May 22, which on Wednesday has raised close to $30,000 for his medical care, Billy Connors, 53, was rushed to Summit's Overlook Medical Center on April 15, where he stayed in intensive care on a ventilator for close to a week, after seizures complicated his healing from emergency surgery.

Once he was weaned from the ventilator, Connors was transferred to Atlantic Rehab in Madison, where he continues to make strides on his road to recovery, thanks to various types of therapies.

"His goal is to get back to doing what he loves and our goal is to help him get there without the extra burden of the enormous bills he is incurring," Debby Connors wrote on GoFundMe about her brother, who she said has been a business teacher and coach in Emerson, Hoboken, Sparta and Weehawken.

"Billy resides in NJ with his wife Millie and 2 daughters, Yesenia (10) and Jamie (9) ... and their cat Clover," she also said.

In an interview with Patch, Connors said her brother and his family, who moved back to Sparta in 2008, lived in Hoboken after studying at St. Peter's College in Jersey City in the 1990s. She also said he previously owned Liberty Bar in Hoboken, where he and his wife first met.

Debby Connors said their father, also named Billy, was a teacher and coach himself in Hoboken, who passed away in 2014.

Of her brother, Connors also wrote, "He has been coaching as much as three sports during a single school year, including soccer, basketball, softball, football and lacrosse. He loves all aspects of his job but mostly helping the kids that need him most."

"The only thing he loves more than teaching/coaching are his daughters who he misses like crazy," she added.

"He has a long recovery ahead of him," Connors said.

Click here to visit the GoFundMe Page.

This post contains reporting from Caren Lissner.

Questions or comments about this story? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.