- Date Of Birth: November 24, 1953
- Date Of Death: January 13, 2015
- State: Maine
Georgetown, ME. – Peter Michael Connors passed away on January 13, 2015 at Mid Coast Hospital, after a brief hospital stay from complications of Prostate Cancer which had metastasized to his bones. He was under the care of Hospice/Chans and his caregiver/wife, April.
Peter was born in Portland, Maine, the son of Vincent James and Anita (Delcourt) Connors.
He is survived by his beloved wife April H. Connors; a son, James Vincent Connors, stepdaughter, Melissa A. Fuller, two grandchildren, Kobe and Madison, one sister, Venita Connors Lowell and brother-in-law, David Lowell, a niece Erin Lowell Martinez and her family.
Peter graduated from Westbrook High ’72, then the University in New Hampshire with a BS Degree in Chemistry. While at UNH, Peter was recruited by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to join the commissioned officers corp. He trained for (4) months at the Merchant Marine Academy at King’s Point, N.Y. His first ship was the Rudenheck, a 90’ ship in charge of underwater mapping from Galveston,Texas to the Gulf of Maine. During this time he received his Master Dive License.
After 2 ½ years of diving for NOAA and having obtained his private pilot’s license Peter transferred into NOAA Aeronautical Branch. This involved traveling the country surveying airports and their obstructions. After two years, he was transferred to Washington, DC to obtain various instrument ratings, a commercial pilot’s license, and a multi-engine rating license. He next flew all over the U.S. doing flight edit, comparing aeronautical charts and actual land areas for remapping purposes.
Peter also spent a lot of time in Alaska, mapping by aerial flight patterns.
He was next assigned to Miami International Airport and the US Hurricane Center.
His work here was helping forecast accurate weather regarding “real time” hurricane conditions.
A few years prior to retiring NOAA suggested that Peter go back to college. He received his Masters Degree in surveying and engineering from the University of Maine-Orono. He later completed his course work for his PHD at UMO studying computer programming.
While in the NOAA Corp., Peter received The Leo O. Colbert Medal for recognition of his outstanding contribution to precise aircraft navigation through his integration of the Global Positioning System and digital mapping display systems.
After twenty-one years of service to his country Commander Connors retired from NOAA.
His hobbies and interests were fishing, boating, skiing, golfing, and baseball. Peter played in an Orioles Fantasy Camp, for 3 different years in Florida and he traveled to Cooperstown, N.Y., for many reunion games. Here he met many players that became family who stayed connected through the years.
Peter’s undying love for baseball led him to a local team called the Dodgers. He played with them for several years.