Services set for resort hotelier J. William Conner
Obituary. The Daily Times [Salisbury,MD], Mar 25 1996, P. 12, Cols. 3-4.
"OCEAN CITY - J. William Conner, 83, of here died Saturday, March 23, 1996, of a stroke at his home.
Born in Ocean City in 1913, he was a son of the late Willye Jones Conner Ludlum and George Conner. His stepfather was Capt. Charles Ludlum.
A graduate of George School Preparatory, he received his bachelor of science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his master's degree from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. He was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and a lifelong member of Cornell Society of Hotelmen.
After a successful career in hotel management in major hotel and restaurant chains, he became a pioneer in hotel education, his family said. The former Cornell University professor of hotel management was director of the hotel school at Paul Smith College in New York State, educational director of the American Hotel Association in New York City, director of the Club Management Institute and educational adviser to the American Culinary Federation. He was instrumental in the promotion of hotel training throughout the world.
On returning to Ocean City in the late '60s, he co-owned and operated the Santa Maria Hotel. In 1974, on the site of the former Hastings Hotel, owned by his mother for 50 years, he developed the property now known as Park Place.
He was vice president of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce; one of the founders, treasurer and a member of the board of directors of the Downtown Association; member of the board of directors of University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hotel and Restaurant Management program; was active in the Service Corps of Retired Executives; member of the Ocean City Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Association; served on the mayor's beautification and transportation committees; and was on the board of directors of the Dunes Club.
Conner is survived by his wife of 57 years, Margaret Conner, a native of Ithaca, N.Y.; a daughter, Lynne Gillen, and a son-in-law, John Gillen, of Bishopville; a sister-in-law, Thelma Conner of Ocean City; three granddaughters, Jacqueline Bresnahan of Ocean City, Caryl Cardenas of Silver Spring, Md., and Margaret Gillen of Washington; four great-grandchildren; two nephews, Edmund Conner of Bishopville and George Conner of Berlin; and a niece, Lauren Taylor of West-over. Brothers Milton Conner and George Conner died, in 1979 and 1990, respectively. A daughter, Joanne Gast of Sayre, Pa., died in 1978.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Paul's-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Ocean City. The Rev. Bryan Eaton Glancey will officiate.
A gathering of family and friends will follow at Phillips by the Sea Restaurant at ocean front and 13th Street in Ocean City.
Donations may be made to the J. William Conner Scholarship Fund, Cornell Hotel School, Office of the Dean, Statier Hall, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853."