Donald Henry Conner

May 7, 1944 - February 4, 2021

Donald Henry Conner, National Chess Master, dies at 76 Donald Henry Conner, age 76, died peacefully of natural causes on February 4, 2021 in Tallahassee, FL, where he resided for the past ten years. He had deep roots in Tallahassee, having graduated from FSU with a BA in Philosophy in 1967. He was born on May 7, 1944 in Wilmington, Delaware, and graduated from Boca Ciega High School, St. Petersburg, FL. In 1978 he received an MA in Philosophy from West Chester State College (PA) and then completed 2 years of a Ph.D. program in Philosophy at Temple University in Philadelphia. He was married to Claire Martha Conner (formerly Mayerschoff) from 1994 to 2000 and had a stepdaughter, Marta. He was predeceased by his sister, Roberta Pyle of West Chester, PA, and is survived by his 2 nephews, Bruce Pyle of West Chester, PA and Eric Pyle of Newark, DE. While Don had a career as an independent computer software engineer, working with many companies to solve major problems, his chief love and obsession was chess—both playing and teaching. In 1992 he achieved the status of “National Master” from the US Chess Federation! In 2014 he was certified as “Local Chess Coach” (Level 1) to enhance his chess teaching in Tallahassee. He was an artist who made beautiful and intricate abstract drawings with a rapidograph while listening to Bach. Most recently his drawings were creative depictions of Celtic crosses. Don had a delightful and unique sense of humor, a brilliant mind, and was a generous soul. He made a difference in many lives and maintained life-long friendships. Young Fulford Funeral Home and Crematory provided services 850-610-4444 YoungFulford.com