On December 29, 2021, Roland Virgil “RV” Connor, beloved husband, father, brother, and friend to many, passed away at the age of 85, after a two-year struggle with dementia. He is survived by his loving wife, Shirley, his stepchildren, Evan, Mark and Steve Webb, and their respective spouses. He also has three surviving children from a previous marriage, Scott, Todd and Lynn Connor. He has an additional twelve grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren from both marriages.
Roland was born in Ohio on January 18, 1936, to Virgil Floyd Connor and Elizabeth Louise Smartt. He spent most of his early childhood in Cleveland and Cuyahoga with his parents and older sister, Gracia Louise Connor. His favorite childhood haunt was nearby McCormick’s Creek State Park in Indiana, which his Granny Grace ran – he joyfully had the run of the park as a privileged full-timer.
He graduated from Purdue University in 1958, beginning his career as an aeronautical engineer, starting at McDonnell/Douglas. He married Laura Ann Lefmann in 1959 and moved to Lancaster, California where they resided until 1966. After three years in St. Louis, Missouri, he resettled the family in Huntsville, Alabama in 1969, and adopted his daughter Lynn in 1972. He enjoyed boating, water-skiing, time on his motorcycle, and time with his family. He continued his chosen career until 1977, when he divorced and retired as an engineer, purchasing a small camping/cycling retail store, “The Outdoor Omnibus” which he happily ran until his retirement in 2002.
He married his beloved soulmate, Shirley Webb, in 1984, happily embracing her four sons and their spouses. In 1992 he made his debut as a community theater actor in a local production of “On Golden Pond” with the WBT in Guntersville, appearing in the lead role opposite his wife Shirley, a long-time veteran of the Guntersville theater community. He went on to play the lead role of Clarence Darrow in “Inherit the Wind”, continuing to appear in multiple supportive roles in productions of “Fiddler on the Roof,” “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “West Side Story,” to name a few. Most of these were done with the NACC Theater, where his stepson Mark directed until his recent retirement.
Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday, January 7th at Laughlin Service Funeral Home, with the service immediately following in the chapel. Masks are respectfully requested. Thank you.
We are immensely saddened at his passing, and respectfully request that in lieu of flowers, you might consider contributing to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
