James Conners James Conners
In Memory of
James E.
Conners
1918 - 2018
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Obituary for James E. Conners

James Edward Conners

James Edward Conners of Lawrence Park passed away on Thursday, March 1, 2018, just two months short of his 100th birthday. Born on May 23, 1918, in Old Town, Maine, he was the son of the late James Albert and Alice May Oliver Conners. He loved Maine with all his heart.
He graduated from Old Town High School in 1936 where he was Class President all through high school. Following graduation he worked at the P.C.F. until he enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1941. Serving for three years, he was entitled to wear the American Area Campaign Ribbon, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Ribbon, the World War II Victory Ribbon, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Ribbon.
Upon returning to Maine following World War II, he enrolled at the University of Maine/Orono where he graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science of Education. A lifelong learner with a curious mind, he returned to school and graduated from Gannon University in 1973 with a Master of Education in Guidance and Counseling.
He taught at Mary Snow School in Bangor, Maine, and was principal of the Cushing School where he was a beloved presence and is remembered by his students to this day. In the mid-1950s, he went to Europe and taught in the military schools in the American section of Berlin where he met Margaret McKenzie of Erie, and they married in 1959.
After teaching in the Canal Zone in Panama, he moved to Erie where he taught in the Erie School District until he was 75 years old whereupon he received a letter from the School District naming him the “grandfather” of the District.
A Lifelong Boston Red Sox Fan, he was ecstatic to see his team break the curse and win not only one but three World Series in his lifetime.
He was a member of St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church in Lawrence Park and the Lions Club. He served as a Lawrence Park Commissioner for 16 years and was on the Erie County Planning Commission and active in the Erie County Democratic Party. He was also the director of Camp Notre Dame for 5 summers. While in Maine, he was chairman of the Penobscot County Democratic Party and was invited to President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration.
In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his siblings: Margaret Craven Conners Grindle; and his twin brothers John and William Kennedy Conners.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret, of Lawrence Park; and his children, William Kennedy Conners of Lawrence Park; Anne Conners and her spouse Austin Donaghy of Cushing, Maine, and his daughter, Sheila “Happy” Conners of Erie and her partner, Jay Ortiz. He doted on his only grandchild, Samantha Kirk, of Erie who was the light of his life and of whom he was inordinately proud. In Maine, he is survived by his cousins, Barbara Conners and Mary Ann Prugh; and his nieces Carol May and Margaret Baker and their children; and his nephew James Grindle.
The family would like to thank the staff at the Pennsylvania Soldiers' & Sailors' Home for the care he received there.
Friends may call at the Russell C. Schmidt & Son Funeral Home, Inc. 5000 Wattsburg Rd. on Monday from 4 to 7 p.m. and are invited to a funeral service there the following morning at 10:00 a.m. At his request his ashes will be sprinkled in Penobscot Bay, Maine from a boat pointing towards Spain.
Donations in his name can be made to the Greater Erie Area Habitat for Humanity, 413 East 9th St. Erie, PA 16503.

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