- Date Of Birth: July 20, 1932
- Date Of Death: January 10, 2016
- State: Georgia
Gerald Eugene “Jerry” Conner died Sunday, January 10, 2016, at his home in Newnan, Georgia, after a brief illness.
Born July 20, 1932, in Timmonsville, South Carolina, to Bessie Lee Parnell and Willie Darrell Conner, Jerry was the youngest of their five children. He married Ann Rose Tippie Foster in 1962 in Florence, South Carolina. They moved to Georgia in 1965 and were blessed with two children. His wife; his daughter, Jerry Ann Conner of Newnan, Georgia, and her husband, Kent Alan Voyce; his son Gerald Foster (Skip) Conner of Florence, S.C., and his wife, Kim Basu; and his grandson, Samuel Thomas Conner (Sammy T) Voyce, survive Jerry. His parents, Willie Darrell Conner and Bessy Parnell Conner, and siblings, William Harold Conner, Dorothy Elizabeth Conner Scarborough, Jacqueline Gray Conner Parrott, and Darrell Lee Conner predeceased him.
Jerry was a 1950 graduate of Timmonsville High School. He was a 1954 graduate of the University of South Carolina’s School of Engineering. Upon graduation he accepted an engineering position with Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) and then was called to active duty as a commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the United State Air Force. From 1955 until 1957, Jerry served his country as a fighter pilot, stationed at Webb Air Force Base in Texas, as a member of the 27th SAC Fighter Bomb Wing. As a U.S. Air Force Captain, he was released from active duty in 1957; he continued to serve as a Captain in the United States Air Force Reserves until his honorable discharge in 1969. In 1957, he joined Eastern Airlines as a pilot; he served as a Captain with the airline until his retirement in 1989.
Jerry was a member of the first Board of Trustees of The Heritage School, and was a member of the Central Baptist Church of Newnan. A lifelong learner, Jerry was an avid reader and student of history. He enjoyed traveling and spending time at his beach home in Garden City, South Carolina.
