Dora Esther Young Conner died on January 23, 2009 at the age of 80 in The Woodlands, Texas. She had suffered a stroke two months earlier and was unable to survive pneumonia.
Dora was truly a coal miners daughter, having been born to Hobert and Mildred Young on July 3, 1928 in Three Mile, West Virginia. Dora grew up in the coal mining area and graduated from East Bank High School in 1946. She graduated from Mountain State Memorial Nursing School and began fulfilling her lifes passion for caregiving as a registered nurse.
Dora was married to James Sherwood Jim Conner, Sr. on May 15, 1949. Jim affectionately called her Dora Ann and that was how she was known by friends and family for the rest of her life. Jim and Dora Ann travelled to Orange, Texas in the early 1950s to visit a nursing school classmate, Nora Ellen Price. They fell in love with Texas and decided not to return to West Virginia. Dora Ann joined her friend as a nurse in the OB area of Orange Memorial Hospital. She had a special passion for caring for the premature infants as they struggled for their chance at life.
In 1957, Jim and Dora Ann moved to Silsbee, Texas and made it their home for more than 50 years. She continued her career as the office nurse for Dr. W. J. Poshataske and was known throughout the town as the nurse who could give a shot that didnt hurt quite as much as others. After Dr. Poshataskes death in 1973, Dora Ann began the next phase of her nursing career at Silsbee Doctors Hospital. Shortly before her retirement from nursing in 1987, she gave special care to the elderly that could not leave their homes as a Home Health Nurse.
While her career kept her busy, she made time to be actively involved in the lives of her children, Butch, Wayne and Lois Ann. Among the many activities, she was a Cub Scout Den Mother, a Camp Fire leader, a Little League team mother and an overall go to person for whatever needed to be done. Jim and Dora Anns yard became the ball field for all the children in The Woodlea Subdivision as they knew the smiles on childrens faces were more important than perfectly placed hedges.
After her retirement from nursing, Dora Ann started a second career that expanded her creative talents with Sew What Bernina. What started out as helping her friend that owned the store led to the creation of beautiful quilts and wearable arts. She was active with the Quilt Guild and enjoyed teaching the craft. She was a member of the Silsbee Womens Club and the Silsbee Garden Club. Her eye for design won her several awards for flower arrangements. She was also a key member of the committee to expand the Silsbee Public Library.
Dora Anns life with Christ was dear to her. She was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Silsbee, Texas, the Victory Sunday School Class and the Prime Timers. She especially treasured her volunteer work with the children in Vacation Bible School and the many Bible study courses.
Dora Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Jim, (1987) and her daughter-in-law, Marianne Mitchell Conner (2007). She was also preceded in death by her only sibling, Osie Mae Higginbotham of Glen Dale, West Virginia.
Dora Ann is survived by her son, James S. Butch Conner, Jr. and wife, Shauna, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, her son, Everett Wayne Conner of The Woodlands, Texas, and her daughter, Lois Ann Stanton and husband, Robert, of Woodville, Texas. She has five grandchildren, Kurt Conner of South Hadley, Massachusetts, Dr. Matt Conner of Durham, North Carolina, Tracy Stalcup of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Jackie Berry of Fredericksburg, Virginia and Jenny Lara of Maricoppa, Arizona. She has 7 great grandchildren and 7 nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her brother-in-law, Harold Higginbotham of Glen Dale, West Virginia and her sister-in-law, Frances Rumley of Charleston, West Virginia.
Pallbearers will be Charlie Woodard, Terry Hulet, Greg Hulet, Wade Norvell and her grandsons, Matt and Kurt. Visitation will be held at Farmers Funeral Home in Silsbee on Sunday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Services will be held to celebrate her life at The First United Methodist Church in Silsbee on Monday at 2 p.m.
