Jeannette Conner

Jeannette Cleo (Lepird) Conner (1930-2017). It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our beloved mother on June 20th at the age of 86 in Chandler AZ. Jeannette was born in Goshen, IN to Joseph Burl Lepird and Prudence Fuller Lepird. Raised in Ligonier, IN by her Aunt Cleo and her older sister, LaVonne (Lepird) Cory, she spent many an afternoon sneaking into double features and working at her uncle's shoe store and the local soda shop. A 1948 graduate of Ligonier High School, she studied nursing at South Bend Memorial Hospital, where she received her RN in 1951. She moved to Santa Monica, CA, the exotic land of beaches, palm trees and dance halls, where she was soon swept off her feet by Montana-born cowboy/navy man Eugene Guy Conner. They married in 1957 and, after several moves across the country, ultimately settled in Phoenix, AZ in 1964. There they raised two daughters, Cheryl (Gary) Gross of Clemmons NC and Susan Conner of Phoenix AZ.

Sweet, giving, and devoted to her family, Jeannette volunteered in the nurse's office at her daughters' elementary school, took care of her grandchildren during the first weeks of their lives, helped her husband and beloved sister at end of life, and blessed her youngest daughter with support and time together in the last few years of her life.

Jeannette was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years in 2006. In addition to her two daughters, she is survived by three grandchildren: Ginelle Marie (Denver CO), Danielle Elizabeth, and Nathaniel Conner Gross (Clemmons NC), as well as a half-brother and several much-loved nieces and nephews.