Don Connors
DON CONNORS – DEAD AT SEVENTY-FIVE
Veterans For Peace lost a friend on All Saints Day, November 1, 2005. Don Connors, Marine and Airman, Korea Conflict period; later a Trappist Monk and, in most recent years, an active advocate for reconciliation and peace. He died of cancer, without pain, in peace.
Don joined VFP soon after the office moved to St. Louis. He became
our most reliable, consistent and wise supporter. He was always there
for the mailings, the vigils, the demonstrations. We traveled together
to D.C. He kept a meticulous set of books as treasurer for Bi-State MO
& IL Chapter 61.
He was there
for me, personally, as my confidante and close friend. W e had lunch
together nearly every week. He listened to my problems; kept me from
whining with his direct, pragmatic responses which generally put the
solutions back in my court. If Don angered, it was never at people
personally, but their actions, bad policies that hurt others. He
listened well, with respect for every word, for the person speaking. He
smiled at you in a way that let you know you counted for much, in his
book.
One of many services Don did for VFP was to find our present office in Clayton:
One
morning Gabriela Inderwies phoned me just as I was leaving home to tell
me that the basement office at the World Community Center had flooded
once again – for the fourth time. I immediately thought of Don, because
he had been involved in St. Louis real estate for years. I asked if he
could help me find another location. A message from Don was waiting
when I arrived at our flooded offices. Would I be able to look at an
office this morning – say 11:00 o’clock?
That is how I came to know Don’s good friend, now mine and VFP’s, Joe Connolly, who offered to rent us our present space at a rate we couldn’t refuse.
Don was sharp, right to the end. His thoughtfulness and sense of humor evident when, as I was saying goodbye for the last time, he thanked me for “all you have done”.
I said that I had done little, to which he replied, “..and you lie, too.”
I carried the big smile away with me.
Don leaves behind his wife, Mildred, a generous, loving soul cast in the same wonderful mold as Don.
Woody Powell