HOMER V. CONNER

The following bio was taken from page 154 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

I, Homer V. Conner, was born October 13, 1933 on the J. T. Oliver farm. This place is located off Highway 322 between what is now called Elderville and Monroe Communities. My parents, Roy and Bertha Walker Conner, moved to Waco when I was three years old. I met my wife, Patsy R. Melton, in Waco. We moved back to East Texas in February 1956 after we were married in Waco, May 14, 1955. We have five children: Vicki Ruth, who married Robert Nail; Virgil, who married Gail Mae; Jerry; David; and Gary.

It seems odd now, but we live right across the road from the place where I was born. Pat and I have lived in the Monroe Community since 1960. We ran the Harrell Brothers Store about eight years after Mr. Jim Harrell died. George Walker, my uncle, helped in the store because Pat drove a Kilgore School bus and I worked at Texas Eastman in Longview.

Pat and I enjoy camping and bike riding. We belong to the Hickory Grove Baptist Church.

It seems that the Homer Conner family is kin to a great many people in East Texas. There is one incident I will always remember. Pat and I were coming home from a visit in Waco and were on Highway 782 heading toward the Stewart Community. We had an accident with a boy named Garvin, who was riding a motorbike. We found out later that he was kin to the Clamps of Millville, and my grandmother was Emma Clamp from Millville.

Pat and I are Watkins dealers, a firm which has been around since 1868. Homer Cole and Mr. Wright were dealers before us. I hope Pat and our family can be here in East Texas for as long as the Clamps and Walkers have.

Pat and Homer V. Conner