Dr. Laurence Neuman Connor Jr.

COLUMBIA Funeral service for Dr. Laurence Neuman Connor Jr., 79, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at Union United Methodist Church, with visitation following the service in the church Fellowship Hall. Burial will be in Barnwell County Memory Gardens at 4:00 p.m. Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel, is assisting the family. Dr. Connor died Saturday, March 12, 2016. He was born on a farm near Barnwell, S.C., the eldest child of Neuman and Alice Carswell Connor. He graduated from Barnwell High School and with High Honors from Clemson College. He earned MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the N.C. State University. In 1959 he married Linda Gause of Myrtle Beach, S.C. Dr. Connor worked as an aerospace engineer with NASA during the early years of the space program. He served as an Air Force officer assigned to NASA and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, reaching the rank of Captain. He taught engineering at the University of South Carolina for 28 years, retiring as Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He was a Registered Professional Engineer in S.C. He spent the 1979-80 academic year at the Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics in Brussels, Belgium. Hobbies included carpentry, reading, and writing. He was a published author of local color and fiction articles dealing primarily with S.C. and his rural upbringing. He was a lifetime student of science, history and theology, as well as an accomplished painter. Dr. Connor was a member of Union United Methodist Church and Aline Leitner-Fellowship Sunday School Class, where he served as a teacher. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Linda; sister and brother-in-law, Henrianne and John Fox; son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Laurence and Michele Connor; grandchildren, Evelyn and Gwyneth; daughter and son-in-law, Drs. Cheryl and Doug Dodds; grandchildren, Katie, Patrick and Keira. He was predeceased by his parents and younger brother and sister-in-law, John and Velvie Connor. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to Epworth Children’s Home, 2900 Millwood Avenue, Columbia, SC 29205.