David Byron Conner
Marriages
Ruth Riggan
Divorced
Carmen Cunningham - April 12, 1963
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 7A Death Notice - November 30, 2018
David B. Conner, 94, Grand Junction, died Nov. 30, 2018, at The Center at Foresight. No services are planned. He was a retired Army officer. He is survived by his wife Carmen; two sons, Eugene Conner of Gloucester, Virginia, and David B. Conner Jr. of Homestead, Florida; one daughter, Jansen King of St. Paul’s, North Carolina; two brothers, Edward Allmond Conner of Virginia and Gene Kinsel Conner of Manassas, Virginia; four sisters, Doris Courtney, Bessie Conner and Patricia Morales, all of Gloucester, Virginia, and Margaret Figgins of Winchester, Virginia; eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
The Daily Sentinel page 5B Obituary - December 5, 2018
David Byron Conner December 17, 1923 - November 26, 2018
David Byron Conner, 94, passed away November 26, 2018, at The Center at Foresight, Grand Junction, CO. He was born to Doris Anderton Conner and William Abraham Conner on December 17, 1923, in Gloucester Point, VA. After graduation from Achilles High School in 1942, he enlisted in the Army in February, 1943. He was shipped to England as a tank commander and landed on Omaha Beach, Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. Dave was wounded twice, receiving two Purple Hearts, but returned to active duty and served in General George Patton’s 6th Armored Division, Third Army through France and the Ardennes Forest. Upon his release from active duty after WWII, he enrolled at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Shortly before graduation he was recalled to active duty. He applied for and was accepted into Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. at Fort Sill, OK in October, 1951. On June 30, 1952, he married Ruth Riggan. They later divorced. During the Korean War, he spent 13 months as a forward observer in Korea. While on assignment to Vietnam, he met Carmen Cunningham, a civilian nurse working for the Agency for International Development. They were married in the Field Hospital Chapel, Nha Trang Vietnam, on April 12, 1963. Dave retired from active duty at Fort Carson, CO on July 31, 1970. During his years of service he received many medals, including the Bronze Star, two Combat Infantryman’s Badges, and the Meritorious Service Medal. After his retirement, the family moved to Steamboat Springs where they spent 23 years before moving to Grand Junction in 1997. He loved the outdoors whether camping, hunting, fishing, skiing or traveling across country in their motorhome. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Carmen; sons, Eugene Conner of Gloucester, VA, and David B. Conner, Jr., of Homestead, FL; daughter, Jansen King of St. Paul’s, NC; brothers, Edward Allmond Conner of Gloucester, and Gene Kinsel Conner of Marathon, FL; sisters, Doris Courtney, Bessie Conner, and Patricia Morales of Gloucester Point, and Margaret Figgins of Winchester, VA; eight grandchildren, and 11 greatgrandchildren. Private inurnment will be at Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery of Western Colorado, Grand Junction. Memorial contributions may be made to Marillachealth, donor relations, 2333 N. 6th St., Grand Junction, CO 81501, or HopeWest Hospice, 3090B North 12th Street, Grand Junction 81506.
