Francis William Connors

May 28, 1925 - August 9, 2008

Francis “Bill” W. Connors, age 83, went to the arms of our Heavenly Father on Saturday, August 9, 2008.

Friends may gather on Monday, August 18, 2008 at the Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM with the American Legion Post #146 to walk through at 6:00 PM. There will also be a visitation on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at St. Katharine Drexel Maple Ave. Church from 10:00 AM until 11:00 AM. The Mass of Christian Burial will follow on Tuesday at the Church at 11:00 AM with Fr. Charles Scheuerell officiating. Entombment will be at Oakwood Cemetery, Town of Beaver Dam, Dodge County, Wisconsin. Military honors will be provided.

Francis William Connors was born on May 28, 1925 in the Town of Westford, Richland County, Wisconsin, to William John and Olive Rose (Ruetten) Connors. Bill attended the rural schools and St. Mary”s Elementary School in Richland Center, graduating from Richland Center High School in 1943. He proudly served in the United State Navy from 1943 until 1946 then returning to active duty from 1952 until his honorable discharge in 1954. Bill attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, graduating in 1949. Following college, he began his business career as a newspaper reporter and became editor and ultimately president and co-owner of the Citizen Publishing Co. in Beaver Dam, until retiring from the work he dearly enjoyed in 1986. Bill served as a director of Marine Bank from 1971 until 1986 and was a director, then president, of Beaver Dam Community Hospitals from 1977 until 1986. He was also on the board of Advisors for St. Joseph”s Hospital in Beaver Dam from 1967 until 1971. Bill was a director and 1964 president of the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce, receiving the Member of the Year Award in 1993. He also was a director and president of the Beaver Dam United Fund, on the Board of Trustees of the Williams Free Library, and was a founding member of the Board of Trustees for the Beaver Dam Scholarship Foundation. Bill was a director and long-time member of Old Hickory Golf Club, and was a charter member and past president and director of Isla Del Sol Yacht and Country Club in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Bill”s faith was also an important role in his life. He was a member of St. Patrick”s Catholic Church in Beaver Dam and a member of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in St. Petersburg. Since 1950, Bill served on many of the St. Patrick”s church committees, including secretary of the first parish council in 1969. He was also the secretary of the Milwaukee Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Men during the early years of its organization.

Survivors are his wife, who was at his side with love and support for 24 wonderful years, Marilyn (Kuhlman) Connors, St. Petersburg, FL, his two stepsons, James A. Webber, Beaver Dam and William A. (Gail) Webber, Tampa, FL, seven grandchildren, Bryan and Dana Webber, and their mother, Joanne Webber, all of Beaver Dam, Brittany, Taryn, Adam and Haley Webber and Kayla Landon, all of Odessa, FL, sister, Coleen (Henry) White, Fox Lake, brother-in-law, John “Jack” (Mary Ann) Kuhlman, Stuart, FL, sister-in-law, Judy Connors, Sunnyvale, CA, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Preceding him in death were his parents, one brother, Raymond C. Connors, nephew, John White, and brother-in-law, Henry A. White.

The family suggests that memorials be made in Bill”s name to Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33760, or to Alzheimer”s Association, 6130 West National Ave., Suite 200, Milwaukee, WI 53214.

The Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam is caring for the family. Online condolences may be made on our website at www.MurrayFH.com.

Service Details

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008, 11:00am, St. Katharine Drexel Maple Ave. Church-Beaver Dam

Interment Details

Oakwood Cemetery-Beaver Dam

Francis “Bill” W. Connors, age 83, went to the arms of our Heavenly Father on Saturday, August 9, 2008. Friends may gather on Monday, August 18, 2008 at the Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM with the American Legion Post #146 to walk through at 6:00 PM. There willContinue Reading

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Dear Marilyn and family, What a great person to have met and called a friend than Bill. He was a friend, an advisor and mostly a gentleman. Dawn and I wish to give our sincere condolences and to say the friends of Bill are truly missing a great man already. We miss you all! Steve & Dawn Kaiser

Dear Marilyn. Bill was a mentor to me in the 1970''s when he was editor of the Citizen. I was a housewife, home taking care of the kids, but dreaming to be a journalist. I asked him if I could intern at the Citizen and learn something about being a reporter...and he said yes. I started out writing police reports and a few features, which he said were good and encouraged me. I suggested writing a column and he asked me to submit something to him and I did...that''s when "Between You and Me" at the Citizen started...a humor, person to person essay,once a week. Here it is in 2008 and I am still writing that column, now for the Advertiser-Gleam in Guntersville, Alabama. I''ll never forget Bill for taking a chance on me. From those early years, I went on to manage the Beaver Dam Mall, advertising manager for the Citizen and on to publishing positions in Madison. All the while, Bill was my mentor, encouraging and being such a gracious gentleman. His legacy lives on in others....more than he could ever imagine. I was a reporter for 11 years here in Alabama and have gone on to do many things in public relations. All because Bill Connors gave a young woman a chance to try out her stuff. I had emailed the Citizen earlier this year about him but never got an answer and I regret that immensely now that Bill is gone. The heavens opened up and welcomed the gentilest of men. We grieve with you and your family. All who remember Bill from so many years at the Citizen know he WAS the paper...fair and articulate. He genuinely cared about people, giving them encouragement and making them feel that they were worthy of the world of news. I carry his trust in me every day of my life. I continue to write and express views, because he told me I could, when I needed it. We are all blessed to have had a relationship with him. To me, he is the epitome of a newsman. Warm regards, Angela Otts

It was with sadness and a sense of loss that we heard of the passing of Bill Connors... a true Beaver Dam institution. For many years he was a good friend of my parents, Howard and Marie Schoenwetter, who always held him in the highest regard. All of Beaver Dam will certainly miss his leadership, his energy and his affability. Our sincere condolences.

Dear Marilyn, We share in your loss of someone who truly made the world a better place. What a wonderful man who was an inspiration and a role model. We are honored to have known someone whose caring spirit touched so many lives. With warm remembrance, Kay and Jack Stellpflug

Please accept our deepest condolences for your family's loss.