Timothy Patrick Connor

Timothy Patrick Connor, age 78 of St. Peter, MN, passed away Friday May 3, 2024, at Mayo Clinic Health in Mankato. 
 
Funeral Service will be 11:00am Saturday May 18,2024, at the Catholic Church of St. Peter, in St. Peter. Visitation will be 4:00 - 6:30pm Friday at the church, with a rosary at 6:30pm. Burial will be at Marysburg Catholic Cemetery with Military Honors. Memorials can be given to John Ireland Catholic School or Catholic Church of St. Peter, in St. Peter in Timothy's memory.

Timothy Patrick Connor was born in St. Peter, MN on September 9,1945, the youngest of six children to Leon “Red” and Luella (Severson) Connor. 
 
Tim attended John Ireland School through the eighth grade, and later graduated from St. Peter High School with the Class of 1963. Following High School, and the passing of both of his parents, Tim lived briefly in Los Angeles, CA with his sister Joanne Leupp and brother-in-law Al Leupp. There he began an internship with Occidental Life. When the popcorn at the Leupp household ran low, Tim joined the United States Air Force on March 31, 1965. He embarked on one of his favorite adventures shortly thereafter when the Air Force stationed him at RAF Chicksands military base in Bedfordshire, England. While Tim was at Chicksands,  he was an establishing member of the Base wrestling team and an officer of the “Rod and Gun Club”. 
 
 At the conclusion of his service, Tim returned to the Minnesota River Valley and worked various jobs while he enrolled at Mankato State College. While at Mankato State, he was introduced to fellow student Suzanne Zimmerman. The pair were later united in marriage at the Catholic Church of St. Peter on April 11,1970.  Tim studied Sociology and Business Administration at MSC and graduated in 1972. 
 
 In 1972, Tim started a career with U-Haul as a territorial district manager. He would later turn down a promotion with U-Haul in San Francisco, CA to stay in his hometown, where he would remain for the rest of his days. In 1975, Tim began a decades-long career in public service, taking a position with Jobs-In-Training/CETA. He would continue to work for the State of Minnesota when he became a buyer in the inventory department at the Department of Transportation in 1985. While with MNDOT, Tim enjoyed his role as the local director of hazardous waste until his retirement in 2007. 
 
 In his personal life, Tim enjoyed socializing and making connections. He was well known for his storytelling and wit. A true Irishman, Tim knew the power of vocabulary and was a family distributor of “Blarney.” At family gatherings and reunions with the Connor and Severson families, he was generally expected to offer up a story or two and set up his comedic stage at the Pfeffer table. A sportsman as well, Tim enjoyed many outdoor pursuits with family, such as; deer, duck, and pheasant hunting. Equally cherished were the yearly adventurous Canadian fishing trips spent with his Hoffmann relatives. 
 
 His hometown was extremely special to Tim, and he found various ways to stay involved with local organizations. He was a member of the American Legion in St. Peter. He served as President of the St. Peter Baseball Association, where he was involved with the drive to replace the lighting at Veteran’s Field. For several years, Tim served on the school board at John Ireland School and taught CCD/Faith Formation classes alongside his wife Sue. A lifelong volunteer at the Catholic Church of St. Peter, Tim was an altar boy, lector, Cemetery Board member, and often spent time assisting with the fall festival and silent auctions. For a time, once a month, he coordinated the church bingo crew. Once again alongside his wife, Tim shared his time, kind words, and prayers with hospital-bound parishioners distributing Communion of the Sick. 
 
 Tim loved sports and took an active role in coaching area youth teams. For multiple years he spent time coaching basketball teams at John Ireland School and within the St. Peter girls travelling program. Assisted by Sue, Tim spent several summers coaching Babe Ruth baseball, Legion baseball, and girls summer softball.  Some of his best days usually included an hour or two of playing noon hour or Saturday morning basketball with friends and family. During his working days, a full day often included mornings of lap swimming or an evening of bowling with his brother-in-law or friends. 
 
 Because of his connection to the past and his family, Connor’s Point on Lake Washington near his grandfather’s farm was a sacred place for Tim. This was the perfect location for him to utilize his trade skills to construct the family cabin. He lived for spending time on the water taking cruises, fishing, or enjoying water sports with his family. Tim loved working with his hands and using tools to build or repair just about anything. He was a lifelong learner who was always trying new products or techniques. He was passionate about building and maintaining his red 50’ chevy. Tim and Sue flipped or maintained several real estate properties, and those skills were put to the test when they later built their dream home from the ground up on St. Peter’s southside. Tim enjoyed consulting and helping others with their home projects as well, relishing the role of on-call handyman. 
 
 Tim’s Catholic Faith and beliefs were extremely important in his life, as he spent most mornings in church, and spent equal amounts of time in adoration or reciting the Rosary with Sue. 
 
 
 We will deeply miss Tim’s unconditional love, his strength, compassion, sense of humor, and adoring blue Irish eyes.  We appreciate the love and support of all of you who have shared Tim’s life journey with us. 
 
 Left to remember Timothy Patrick Connor are his wife of 54 years Suzanne Connor of St. Peter; Son Chris and wife Dawn Connor of Parker, CO; Daughter Kelley (Connor) and husband Jeff Stangler of Prior Lake, MN; Daughter Katherine (Connor) and husband Jeremy Spurgin of Worthington, MN; grandchildren Ayden Connor, Luella Stangler, Joseph Stangler, Claire Stangler, Liam Spurgin, Emma Spurgin, Finnegan Spurgin,  and Eloise Spurgin; Sister Joanne (Connor) and husband Alan Leupp of La Quinta, CA; as well as his beloved nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends. 
 
Tim was preceded in death by his parents; siblings Keith Connor, Mary Lou (Connor) Hoffmann, Muriel (Connor) Klugherz, and Shirley (Connor) Felton; brothers-in-law Raymond “Buz” Hoffmann, James Felton, Hubert “Hub” Klugherz, and William Zimmerman; sister-in-law Dodie Connor; mother-in-law Janice Zimmerman; father-in-law Lowell Zimmerman; and nephews David Felton, Peter Hoffmann, and Thomas Hoffmann.

The live stream link below is a complimentary service provided by Mankato Area Funeral Homes.

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