Donald Charles Conner

Donald Charles Conner of Bemidji passed away peacefully on August 14, 2019.  He was 90.

A Celebration of Life will be 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church. Family will greet friends one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment will be in Calvary Cemetery, Bemidji, MN. Arrangements were entrusted to the Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Bemidji.

Don is survived by his wife of 27 years, Patricia; his children Tony Stromberg and Tracy Conner of Santa Fe, New Mexico; his grandsons Miguel and Rafael Bernardez; his former wife and the mother of his children Peggy Stromberg Conner; his step-children, Jennifer (Ray) Phillips, Chris (Hannah) McGowan, John (Shana) McGowan-Hartmann and Phyllicia McGowan; cousin Robert Conner of Bemidji; and numerous other cousins and their broods.

Don was born on October 19, 1928 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, to Robert and Wahneta Conner.  He attended the University of North Dakota and graduated from the Montana School of Mines.  After graduation, he worked as a petroleum geophysicist with Shell Oil and Occidental Petroleum for many decades.  His work took him to Peru, Colombia, Great Britain, the Philippines, and Siberia.

Don was an avid reader, outdoorsman, fisher, rock climber, winter camper, and in his later years, a vocal champion of human rights, social justice, and the environment.  He was ordained a Deacon in St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church of Bemidji on October 4, 2011.  He found his spiritual home and great fellowship at St. Bart's.

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