Connor Barber Dunphy

Connor Barber Dunphy died unexpectedly on May 23, 2021 at the age of 21. He is survived by his parents, Andrew and Jeri, and five siblings, Katie, Lydia, Jordana, Ermias, and Ben. On his father’s side, he is survived by his paternal grandparents, Kenneth Dunphy of New Hampshire and Janice (Jay) Barber Dunphy of Massachusetts, his uncle Kenneth Dunphy, Jr. and his aunt Sharon Dunphy and her wife, Deborah Boyden. On his maternal side he is survived by his maternal grandmother, Sarah (Sally) Small of Rhode Island, and his two aunts, Jennifer Small of New York and Katharine Small of Massachusetts.

Connor was born in New Haven, CT on January 25, 2000. He lived in Guilford, CT until 2009; in Wiesbaden, Germany until 2011; in Fairfax, VA where he graduated from Robinson Secondary in 2018; and finally in Farmville, VA. He was a rising junior and Criminal Justice major at Longwood University, where he was also a proud member of the Delta Tau Chi Fraternity.

Connor was many things—a son, brother, friend, protector, team leader, and team member; a student; a jack-of-all-trades from HVAC technician to pizza maker; an amateur mixed martial arts fighter, and the coach of the fight team he founded, Wartime MMA. He revered and was revered by his brothers at Delta Tau Chi. Connor will be remembered for his unique approach to life, his far-reaching and diverse group of friends, and his willingness to help anyone in need. He will be missed. As he always said at the end of phone calls home, “Goodbye for now.”

A reception and memorial in Connor’s honor will be held from 1PM to 4PM at the Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center, 3740 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22030. This is a casual affair with refreshments.

Delta Tau Chi has established a GoFundMe account in Connor’s honor at https://bit.ly/3hVwZFd. The fraternity decided to put half the funds raised to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (afsp.org) and the other half towards an organization that Connor frequently donated his fight earnings to, United Service Organizations (USO.org).