IN LOVING MEMORY OF
John Wendell
Conner
August 29, 1924 – January 4, 2009
Obituary
John Wendell Conner, 84, Harrisonville, MO, died Sunday, January 4, 2009 at Crown Care Center in Harrisonville. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at the Atkinson Chapel in Harrisonville with burial in Orient Cemetery, Harrisonville. Friends may call 6:00-8:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 6 at the chapel. Memorial contributions may be made to Crossroads Hospice of Kansas City, 9237 Ward Parkway, Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64114 or to the Double Branch Christian Church in Butler, MO 64730.
John was born on a rural farm in Adrian, MO on August 29, 1924, the son of John Thomas and Leona Clara (Moles) Conner. He was raised on a rural farm in Butler, MO where he attended Butler High School. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served aboard the destroyer USS Sullivan as a Radar-man during WWII and was honorably discharged in 1946. He, along with 2 cousins, Dean Conner and Eugene Conner, were among the first Conner family members to serve in the U.S. Armed forces.
After discharge, John attended William Jewell College in Liberty, MO where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Education. He completed college while working a fulltime job, playing for the William Jewel Cardinals football team and raising three young children.
Following college he worked for the Gallatin Missouri School System where he taught for 4 years and coached the football team to a State Championship in 1954. He then worked as a salesman and later was the Regional Sales Manager for Hills Brothers Shoes. In 1962 he returned to his life passion of teaching and coaching and became a teacher and football coach in Harrisonville. He was the head football coach at Harrisonville from 1965 to 1970. John was a teacher and coach in the Harrisonville School District for 22 years before retiring in 1985.
John also had a passion for raising horses. He raised, bred and showed registered paint horses for a number of years and was an early member of the American Paint Horse Association.
John was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Maxine Frederick and Delores Poulignot. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Rosa Lee (Evans) Conner, Harrisonville, MO; four daughters, Carol Moody and Janet Moses, both of Harrisonville, MO; Mary Butler, Lee's Summit, MO and Judy Kuhnhoff, Weatherby Lake, MO; one son, Larry Conner, Indianapolis, Indiana; one sister, Mrs. Joan Clay, Harrisonville, MO; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and numerous friends and relatives.
John was well known in the Harrisonville community where he was still referred to as "Coach" by many of his former players, students, parents and members of the community. He will be missed by all.
John was born on a rural farm in Adrian, MO on August 29, 1924, the son of John Thomas and Leona Clara (Moles) Conner. He was raised on a rural farm in Butler, MO where he attended Butler High School. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served aboard the destroyer USS Sullivan as a Radar-man during WWII and was honorably discharged in 1946. He, along with 2 cousins, Dean Conner and Eugene Conner, were among the first Conner family members to serve in the U.S. Armed forces.
After discharge, John attended William Jewell College in Liberty, MO where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Education. He completed college while working a fulltime job, playing for the William Jewel Cardinals football team and raising three young children.
Following college he worked for the Gallatin Missouri School System where he taught for 4 years and coached the football team to a State Championship in 1954. He then worked as a salesman and later was the Regional Sales Manager for Hills Brothers Shoes. In 1962 he returned to his life passion of teaching and coaching and became a teacher and football coach in Harrisonville. He was the head football coach at Harrisonville from 1965 to 1970. John was a teacher and coach in the Harrisonville School District for 22 years before retiring in 1985.
John also had a passion for raising horses. He raised, bred and showed registered paint horses for a number of years and was an early member of the American Paint Horse Association.
John was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Maxine Frederick and Delores Poulignot. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Rosa Lee (Evans) Conner, Harrisonville, MO; four daughters, Carol Moody and Janet Moses, both of Harrisonville, MO; Mary Butler, Lee's Summit, MO and Judy Kuhnhoff, Weatherby Lake, MO; one son, Larry Conner, Indianapolis, Indiana; one sister, Mrs. Joan Clay, Harrisonville, MO; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and numerous friends and relatives.
John was well known in the Harrisonville community where he was still referred to as "Coach" by many of his former players, students, parents and members of the community. He will be missed by all.
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