Eleanor Connor

Eleanor or Jean, as she preferred to be called, was born in Everettville West Virginia to Claude and Jettie May Lough.

Her mother referred to her as her “Christmas baby”. She was the youngest of four children, having a sister named Doris (called Betty) and two brothers one named Harold (called Bus) and the other named Robert (called Bob). I was always fascinated by the fact that none of them were called by their given names. Her sister lived with her grandparents. This left Jean with only her brothers for company. She loved to follow them around and try to do everything that they did. This didn’t always work out so well for her. When she wanted to swing on the grape vine like them, they were more than happy to help. This resulted in a broken leg for her. Another time, when they got a brand new bike, she begged them to let her ride it. Since she didn’t know how, they took her to the top of a hill and gave her a push. Once again, this did not end well for her. Somehow, she managed to survive to adulthood and moved with her parents and brothers to Holland Michigan. This is where she met her future husband Andy Connor and married him. Andy was in the Army. This made for interesting travel for Jean. She lived in a few different states, including Oklahoma. While in Oklahoma they adopted their children, twins Ricky and Vicky, and then they were off to live in France and later Germany. After Andy retired from the military, they settled into a home in Borculo and Jean worked for a while at Howard Miller while Andy worked at Herman Miller. In the 1980’s Jean found out that someone was looking for her. It was her son Eric that she had given up for adoption. Eric and his wife Nancy traveled to Michigan to see her, and Jean and Andy traveled to Arizona to see them. The connection with Nancy and Eric and their sons David and Kevin was very important to Jean and brought her a lot of joy. Jean and Andy were also overjoyed when their son’s wife gave birth to a little girl named Kim. She was the center of their world for many years and would later give them two great granddaughters, Skyler and Sarah. Jean and Andy eventually decided to move to Holland and live in Holiday West. When Andy developed serious health problems, Jean was steadfastly there to care for him through years of extended hospital stays, doctor’s appointments and time spent in a wheelchair. She also had her mother living with them. When Andy passed, they had each other for company. She continued to care for her mother until it was no longer possible and she passed at age 102. Jean was very lucky to have a man named Scott Hansen come into her life and had some very happy years spending time with him until he also passed. Then she was alone, and Jean did not like being alone. When her own health was failing and she could no longer drive, she moved to American House and then to Cambridge Manor in Grandville. She thrived in an environment where there was activity and lots of people to keep her company. Most of the employees there referred to her as “Aunt Jean” which always brought a sweet smile to her face, and she was known for being a bit of a hot rod with her walker. When she was feeling well. She happily participated in making crafts, the no bake dessert sessions, exercise class and would take walks outside whenever possible. She enjoyed church services there and attended each week. But her greatest thrill was when they had musicians and singers come in and she got to sing along. It always lifted her spirits. When she got sick and tested positive for Covid 19, we all hoped and prayed she would be one to survive. After all, she had made it through so many other terrible trials, but it was not meant to be. When she had the nurse call me and said, “I am ready to be done,” we all knew it was time to let her go. I will always remember her for her determination, resilience and joy for life. She experienced much loss in her near 91 years of living and many trials. Through it all, she took care of those she loved and managed to always look forward to the next good thing.

She was the most resilient person I have ever known, and I feel proud and blessed to have had her in my family. We all do. Rest in Peace Aunt Jean. You have more than earned it.

A private family service is being planned. Please visit www.lakeshorememorial.com to leave a message or memory for the Connor family.