Lawrence S. (Bo) Connor, retired managing editor of The Indianapolis Star, died Friday, Feb. 28, 2014, at the age of 88.
The son of Nicholas J. and Agnes Peelle Connor, he was a lifelong resident of Indianapolis, and was graduated from Cathedral Grade School and Cathedral High School. During World War II he served in the Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1946.
He joined The Star in 1949 after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. He served in several editing positions at The Star, including 16 years as city editor and 11 as managing editor before retiring in 1990. He was a member of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1975 for a 1974 series on corruption within the Indianapolis Police Department.
He also was Indiana correspondent for the National Observer during its 15 years of existence (1962-1977).
After retiring he wrote more than a dozen travel stories and more than 150 book reviews for The Star. He also wrote two books: “Hampton Court: Growing up Catholic in Indianapolis Between the Wars” (published in 1995) and “Star in the Hoosier Sky: The Indianapolis Star in the Years the City Came Alive 1950-1990” (published in 2006).
He married Patricia Alandt of Indianapolis in 1956. They had six children: Carolyn (William) Weigel, Julia (Christopher) Dietrick, Lawrence S. Connor Jr., Maureen (Thomas) Stark, Janet (Will) Kahler, Michael (Joanna) Connor, and 16 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, all of whom survive. He was predeceased by five siblings: Nicholas Connor, Robert Connor, William Connor, Mary Margaret “Sally” Lynch, and Virginia Grande.
Mr. Connor was a charter member of the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation, co-founder of the Thomas R. Keating Feature Writing contest, and member and past president of the Indianapolis Literary Club. During his years as managing editor he was a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Associated Press Managing Editors organization.
He was named the Notre Dame Club of Indianapolis's Man of the Year in 1991 and also that year received the Press Club's Larry A. Conrad Renaissance Award. He was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 1997.
Over the years he had served on the boards of several Catholic organizations, including president of the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish council, and 12 years on the board of advisors of Our Lady of Grace Monastery. He was also a member of the Criterion advisory board, and in 2003 he received the Celebrating Catholic School Values Career Achievement Award.
But Bo will mostly be remembered for his gentle but witty demeanor, love for his family, and insatiable curiosity about the world – traits that made him a great newsman and even better husband, brother and dad.
Visitation will be from 4 – 8 PM Wednesday, March 5th at Feeney-Hornak Keystone Mortuary. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 AM Thursday, March 6th at St. Pius X Catholic Church followed by interment at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens.
Memorials can be made to the Thomas R. Keating Feature Writing contest and scholarships via the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation, P. O. Box 40923, Indianapolis, IN 46240 (www.indypressfoundation.org) or Our Lady of Grace Monastery, 1402 Southern Ave., Beech Grove, IN 46107 (www.benedictine.com).
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