Dan Connors

Dan Connors, 74, of Miles City, and a frequent Libby visitor, died at Miles City on Sept. 3, 2005.

He was born on Jan. 8, 1931, at Butte, to Irish immigrant parents, John and Margaret Holland Connors.

After graduating from Butte Central High School in 1948, Dan graduated from Western Montana College at Dillon. He was named to Western's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

While a student at Western, Dan met and married Suzanne O'Dell.

Dan served in the Army Intelligence program and during those years the family lived in Georgia. They chose life in Montana over a career in the army and moved back to Montana in 1956.

Don began his long teaching and coaching career in Montana at Victor and in 1960 the growing Connors family moved to Miles City where Dan began a legendary career as head football and basketball coach at Sacred Heart High School, continuing his teaching and coaching career at Miles Community College.

After the death of his wife Sue in 1995, Dan continued to be involved in the community and ran for Custer County Commissioner, a role he served with honesty, integrity, thoughtful intelligence and humor.

An Irish blessing appropriate to describe Conners reads, "May your home always be too small to hold all your friends."

In addition to his wife Sue, Dan was preceded in death by his parents, brothers John and Bill Connors, sister Margaret and grand-daughter Kelly Manning.

Survivors include his children, Kathy and her husband Dale Rumph, Billings; Diane and her husband Rik Rewerts, Libby; Peg and her husband Jack Manning, Great Falls; John and his wife Kathy Connors, Medina, Wash.; Dan and his wife Kerri Connors, Salt Lake City; Chris and her husband Carl Frankel, Kirkland, Wash., and Kevin Connors, Red Lodge, 23 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Survivors also include sisters Aggie and her husband John Frankino, Helena; Kay and her husband Bill Brennick, Spokane; Eileen O'Connor, Butte; sisters-in-law Berta and her husband Dave Clowes, Glasgow, and Diane Davis, Denman Island, B.C. and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral Mass was celebrated at 11 a.m. on Thursday at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, followed by committal in the family lot in Calvary Cemetery with full military honors provided by VFW Post No. 1579.

Memorials in Dan's name may be made to the Connors Scholarship Fund, Box 610, Miles City, MT 59301.