Obituary of Larry Gibson Conner, Sr.

Larry Gibson Conner, Sr., of Roanoke, Virginia, loving husband, father, brother and Granddaddy, went to be with his Heavenly Father on September 26,2023. He was 83 years old. He lived an incredible life and is at rest after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.

Born on October 8, 1939, to Aaron J. Conner and Lila Rhodes Conner, Larry grew up understanding the value of working hard. He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute, majoring in Civil Engineering, with a goal of working along side his father in the family business, Aaron J. Conner General Contractor. During his years of college, he took time off to join the army and continued to serve in the armed forces through the reserves for many years. Finishing college, he continued to live a life with tremendous energy and a great work ethic, working long hours and hard at the company even up into the last years of life. His day was not complete with his work at the company as he would then come home to begin work in the garden or the field, both past times he loved.

Larry had a life long love for learning and spent many days reading and studying. He believed life was meant to be lived and even in his fifties studied to learn the new skill of becoming a pilot. While most might have been thinking of retirement, he was excited to study the art of something new - flying, even after surviving a plane crash as a passenger. Larry flew for many years often taking family and friends flying and looking for opportunities to take day outings to build relationships in hopes of having the chance to share about His Savior, Jesus Christ.

As much as Larry loved flying and working, his love for his dear wife, Ida Jane, of 61 years far surpassed it all. He was known to leave her sweet notes around the house and often was heard calling her "His special angel" always thanking the Lord for giving her to him. Larry also could not have been more thankful for his family and loved spending time with his children, his grandchildren and his great grandchildren, always telling them how proud he was of them and how much he loved them. He was a very active dad, granddaddy and great grandfather always encouraging them in their sports and interests all the while looking for opportunities to point them to Jesus.

Larry Conner loved the Lord with all of his heart and enjoyed serving at Green Ridge Baptist Church, where he was a longtime member. He looked forward to serving as a deacon, teaching, singing in the choir and telling others about His great Savior, Jesus. He was often up early in the morning before sunrise and late at night reading his Bible and studying his Sunday School Lesson preparing to teach the BASIC class (Brothers and Sisters In Christ). He gained great joy teaching and sharing. He was happiest when he was serving, whether it was preparing food and washing feet at the Roanoke Valley Rescue Mission, being on the board at the Oak Hill Academy or being a faithful member of the Lions Club. Larry lived out the premise that you cannot out give God and desired to share his resources and his time with all of those around him.

Larry is survived by his devoted wife, Ida Jane Conner. He is also survived by a long list of children, grand children and great grandchildren, whom he cherished. They are as follows:

Larry Conner, Jr. (Wife Glyne and children Ashley and Jonathan), Lori Peters (husband Kevin and children Sarah, Austin, Carrie, and Aaron and Great Grandchildren Pryor and Rhodes), Lisa Riviere (husband Cam and children Rachel, Laura, Jacob, and Grace), Lewis Conner (wife Diana and children David and Benjamin). He is also survived by his sister Linda Duffield and her husband Kenneth.

The Conner family would like to acknowledge a deep appreciation to Tom Whitt and Kellie Widener, who cared for Larry with an extraordinary amount of kindness and compassion and for his sweet and gentle Hospice nurse Clara with Good Samaritan.

The family will receive friends on Friday, September 29 at Green Ridge Baptist Church 5521 Green Ridge Road Roanoke, Virginia 24019 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. A Celebration of Life funeral service will be held on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at Green Ridge Baptist Pastor Greg Moser and Pastor Michael Palmer will officiate. Grandsons Austin Peters, Jonathan Conner, Jacob Riviere, Aaron Peters, David Conner, and Benjamin Conner will be the pallbearers. Interment will follow at Sherwood Memorial Park. Arrangements are being made by Simpson Funeral Home. The family requests in lieu of flowers, a lasting memorial could be given to the following Christian Organizations that would continue Larry's Christian service into the future: Green Ridge Baptist Church 5521 Green Ridge Road Roanoke, Virginia 24019 and The Rescue Mission of Roanoke P.O. Box 11525 Roanoke, Virginia 24022