William Terence Conner, 88, travelled to be with his Lord and Savior peacefully surrounded by his loving Wife and Family Nov. 10, 2019, due to complications from cancer. He was born Oct. 28, 1931 a few minutes before his twin sister Mary, to Herbert S. Conner and Marie Ann (Schaller) at the McDonald birthing house in Okanogan, Wash. Terry and his siblings are the great-grandchildren of Louisa A. Conner, who the town of La Conner, Wash. is named for. He spent his first few years growing up on his parents' ranch in the Sinlanhekin, which is now a wildlife reserve. There he had many Huck Finn adventures, hunting, camping, swimming, fishing at Conner Lake and of course working. The Conner's had a working dude ranch, and during the summer city kids from the Seattle and the Pacific Northwest area would come and stay in the bunk house to learn how to ride horses, herd cows, camp, and all other aspects of ranching life.
At the age of nine the family sold the ranch and moved to Okanogan. He would spend the rest of his school years proudly being an Okanogan Bulldog for life. Terry was very active in school sports and was well known for his playing football and basketball, and of course his winning hoop shot in high school basketball made from the other end of the court. He was also involved in many school clubs during his time in school. He loved teasing girls, especially his twin sister Mary, and playing practical jokes with his brothers and friends. He was your all-around red-headed American boy. After graduation tried his hand at college going to Eastern Washington University.
Terry was a proud U.S. National Guardsman and during College, the Korean War was raging, and he found out he was going to be drafted, so he went down to his local recruiter and signed up instead. After he joined was stateside for a year, and then he was sent to Korea and three days later the Armistice was signed. He spent a year in Korea during his tour of duty. Terry was honorably discharged in July of 1952.
Upon his return he owned a gas station briefly in Okanogan, then went to work for Columbia Concrete. His biggest and best job change came when he went to work for The State of Washington Department of Transportation. There he found his calling. He loved driving big rigs, plowing snow and working the roads. It was there he got the nickname "Top Cat". He started in Electric City, Wash. then transferred to Twisp, Wash., then Mansfield, Wash. and finally made the last move to Okanogan. During these years Terry was active in all of his nieces and nephews' lives, he was in essence "The Fun Uncle". While he was living in Mansfield, he invited an old school mate to her class reunion in Okanogan, (she was a grade ahead, in the class of '49) and then began the love affair of his life, literally. He married Cherie (Kammers) July 2, 1982. Cherie came to the marriage with children, one still living in the home, Retha. So, Terry became an instant dad and grandpa, since Cherie already had three grandchildren. Retha and Terry bonded very quickly becoming a great father/daughter duo. That rounded out five of his favorite roles, Husband, Father, Brother, Grandfather and Uncle.
Terry and Cherie's home was the place to be and often they would take Retha, her friends or their grandkids, family and friends to the Cabin at Crawfish Lake. Much fun and play was had at the cabin with Terry there, he was definitely the life of the party and a prankster. It was also during this time Terry found out he had a daughter Maria he'd never met, living in Alaska. That put him completely over the moon, he was so happy and proud, he couldn't wait to meet her. He loved telling folks about his daughter Maria! Terry and Cherie travelled to Alaska with their travel trailer a couple of times to stay with Maria and her family. If you knew Terry, you know he loved family and he loved being with family and friends, especially if he got to BBQ.
Terry and Cherie had many adventures during their marriage, golfing, snowmobiling, camping and even a hiking trip in Glacier National Park with his brother Mike and family. Nobody liked having fun more than Terry. His laugh was infectious, and his effervescent joy was abounding. Terry retired from the Department of Transportation in 1993 after over 30 years of service. Cherie and Terry spent their retirement years traveling, camping, being with grandkids, caring for Cherie's parents Ted and Ola, and taking great care of their home and yard. Terry was meticulous about his yard and vehicles. If you ever drove by in the summer, more than likely you saw Terry on his riding lawnmower, or in the winter with his snowblower. Terry loved watching the Seahawks, the Mariners and Gonzaga on TV or any other sport he could watch. He enjoyed watching old TV shows and old movies. He also, absolutely loved going to Okanogan Football and Basketball games when he could and delighted watching his granddaughter Sheena play sports whenever possible. He often went for drives, especially if there was road construction or a fire. Yes, Terry was a serious looky lou. He took many drives up to the old ranch with his brothers to see the land and house their parents used own, or drives to Conconully, or Molson and look at Cherie's grandparents old homestead. He also had a passion for making wood signs for Cherie to paint, and proudly displayed them with the changing seasons.
One of Terry's biggest delights in his declining years were his endless games of cribbage several times a week with his son-in-law Steve. They probably played over a million games together, while sipping on refreshments, usually beer or his favorite Strawberita's. He was a killer cribbage player. This was a man of unwavering faith and integrity, who will truly be missed by all who knew him. Terry never knew a stranger and was always willing to talk to anyone who would listen, or help anyone in need, and he never had a meal he didn't consider "absolutely delicious" (family joke). Terry was a devout Catholic and churchgoer, and was a member of the Knights of Columbus, but as they advanced in age they had to cut back on going, which was really hard, for they truly loved worshipping in the House of the Lord.
Terry is survived by his wife, Cherie; his twin sister, Mary A. Harmer, of Salt Lake City, Utah; his brother, Mike (Diane) Conner, of Kalispell, Mont.; his daughter, Maria (Manuel) Sabedra, of Carthage, Texas; his stepdaughter, Lillie Savage, of McCleary, Wash.; his stepson, Kenny (Linda) Fisher, of Omak, Wash; his stepdaughter, Cynthia (Steve) Rowe, of Omak; stepdaughter, Retha (Paul Carrizales) Carpenter, of McCleary; grandchildren, Stacey (Joseph) House, of McCleary, Duane (Lori) Savage, of Omak, Elijah J. Fisher, of Okanogan, Sheena H. (Hilary Martinez) Zacherle, of Wenatchee, Wash., Sierra 0. (Andy Brunette) Carpenter, of Orofino, Idaho, and Kessa M. Sabedra, of Carthage, Texas; his sister-in-law, Barbara Conner, of Omak; his brother and sister-in-law, Ted and Bernice Kammers, of Wenatchee; his brother-in -law, Rodney Kammers, of Summerland, BC; along with seven great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert S. and Marie A. Conner; his brother, Herbert "Skip" Conner; his in-laws, Ted and Ola Kammers; sister-in-law, Ruby Kammers; brother-in-law, Sherman Harmer; stepson-in-law, Rodney Savage; and his best buddies, neighbors, Don Schreckengost, James Derting, Richard Millard and Levi Toulouse.
The Family would like to Thank Frontier Home Health and Hospice for their unwavering support and compassion, the family could not have done it without them. They are without a doubt fantastic. His family would also like to thank long time family friends, Ella Schreckengost, Gerald Latshaw, Joanne Derting, Dorie Wood and Stan and Mike Duke.
Arrangements are by Bergh Funeral Home with a Rosary at 6 p.m., Friday, Nov. 29, 2019 at Our Lady of The Valley Catholic Church on Elmway and a Funeral Service and Mass at 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019 at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, followed by a dinner and slide show at the church dining hall. A burial will take place at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019 at the Okanogan City Cemetery, please feel free to attend.