Patricia “Pat” Ann Coco and William Conner Ellis Jr. met in high school. Pat was at Sacred Heart and Conner went to De La Salle, and they went almost every afternoon to Valencia, an iconic club for high school students on Valence Street. It took Conner about two years to get a date with Pat, because she had so many boys who wanted to take her out! Once Conner finally convinced her to go out with him they dated all the way through college. Pat was a Kappa Kappa Gamma at Newcomb College and Conner president of the Kappa Alpha Order at Tulane University.
Conner asked Pat to marry him while they were at the Do Drive-In movie and she said yes! Pat’s mom flew into planning mode, and they had a beautiful wedding on June 6, 1963. They were supposed to get married at a later date but had to change it because Conner, who had been in ROTC at Tulane, was commissioned to go into the Navy after graduation and was called to be stationed in Charleston, South Carolina.
The wedding was held at Holy Name of Jesus Church on St. Charles Avenue and the reception at the Orleans Club.
The Orleans Club was festooned with flowers by Rohm’s Florist, the cake was created by Swiss Bakery and the club created beautiful buffet for the 300 plus guests! Pat’s dress and her bridesmaids’ dresses came from D. H. Holmes. Conner’s dad gave them a car for their wedding present, and it was hidden because they were afraid that the groomsmen would create a mess for them to drive away in. After the reception, Pat changed into her going away outfit and they drove off to their honeymoon at the Broadmoor Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi. They got to the hotel after a seven hour trip that should have taken two hours, because a bridge that they had to cross malfunctioned and they were stuck in their new car that didn’t have air conditioning. I guess you could say that a little bad luck might signal a great marriage. Pat and Conner have been married for 56 years! They have three children, 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild and are living happily ever after!
