William Eugene Conner

Born in Kewanee, Illinois, Bill left his small hometown to earn a bachelor's and master's degrees in biology from Notre Dame University followed by a PhD in neurobiology and behavior from Cornell University. After a brief stint in Durham, Bill was hired by Wake Forest University in 1986, retiring in 2022 as a Full Professor. During those years he won the university's Teaching Award and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He helped develop the Wake Downtown and Entrepreneurship program. Bill also ran an energetic research program at Wake Forest and mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students who went on to their own successful careers.

Bill was working on his dissertation at the isolated biological field station in Lake Placid, Florida when he met and fell in love with another graduate student, Mindy McCauley. Research projects, teaching, speaking engagements, and professional meetings took Bill and Mindy all over the nation and the world, from the Galapagos Islands to Paris, Barcelona, Venice, and Australia, with the generous support of Wake Forest University. They celebrated 47 years of marriage on July 20, 2026.

Bill is survived by his wife, Mindy; sister, Linda Conner Wong of Reno, Nevada; sisters-in law, Gay Sells and Lindsey Ehrstein Diana; and several wonderful nieces and nephews.

In the last months of his life, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and Parkinson's disease destroyed his mobility and his memories, but even they could not destroy his innate kindness and sweet spirit.

No memorial service has been scheduled. Simply remember how Bill affected your life and smile when you think of him.