Lee Leonard Conner

Lee Leonard Conner passed away Thursday, May 4, 2017 at home. He was 83. Lee was born June 20, 1933 in Stockton, Missouri to Leonard Charles and Dolly Ella (Warner) Conner. His family had been living in Kansas and Missouri before he was born. They moved back to the family's home base in Strawberry Point, Iowa when he was very young and he lived in that area until he went away to college in Ames, Iowa. The family farm near Strawberry Point was established in 1855 by Lee's great grandfather, William Snowden Warner. He immigrated to the area from England by way of Canada, New York, and Illinois. Another of Lee's great grandfathers, Charles Conner, emigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania in 1845. Lee survived polio as a young teenager. He attended rural schools until entering high school. He participated in FFA and graduated from Strawberry Point High School, at age 16, in 1950. Lee graduated from Iowa State University in 1954 with a degree in Agricultural Education. After college, he was a Vocational AG Instructor at Coggon, Iowa and taught Veterans-on-the-Farm Training classes. In 1956, Lee began working for Western Electric in Chicago, Illinois and became an equipment engineer. He was transferred to Denver, CO in 1965 and continued working for Western Electric through the Bell system breakup and reorganization and retired in 1989. He worked as a contractor to four other telecommunications companies for several years after retiring. He married Janet DeWitte in 1955 and they had 5 children. The family moved from Greeley, IA to Grayslake, then Gurnee, IL and to Kenosha, WI before moving to Aurora, CO in early 1965. They moved to Littleton later in 1965. Eventually, Lee and Janet were divorced. Lee married Betty (Tryon) Sipes in 1977 and her 2 children also became part of the family. Lee and Betty built a new home at that time. This is where Lee lived until his passing. He had an early interest in machinery. He loved classic cars – Hudson, Rambler, Nash, and more. But, he also liked trains, tractors, and farm equipment. He enjoyed being part of the Hudson Club and AMC Club. He liked to travel, worked on genealogy, and read about history – American, Native American, and the World Wars. He enjoyed old black and white movies, and older TV shows and movies. Lee's three siblings preceded him in death. They were Kathleen Timmerman (IA), Howard Conner, Sr. (CA), and Kenneth Conner (FL). Two of his sons also preceded him: Daniel Conner and Timothy Conner. Lee is survived by his wife, Betty and by children Lynne Dissette, Sheila Ware, Keirnan Conner, David Sipes, and Tamra Fryda. He has 10 grandchildren. There will be a Memorial Service on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 1:00 pm at Horan & McConaty, 3101 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Lakewood, CO 80227. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (jdrf.org).