Eric Kent Conner, II

Eric Kent Conner II, 57, beloved husband, father, son, brother, friend, teacher, and coach, passed away on April 22nd, 2026.

Eric, aka Coach Conner, was born on October 16th, 1968 in Evansville, IN. He was the son of the late Vivian Joy Conner (Jenkins) and Eric Kent Conner. Eric was a man who set foundation in many places. He was born in Evansville, IN and spent his early years in Dale, IN and later moving to Lake Placid, FL as a sophomore in high school. Eric was a proud Dragon basketball player who helped lead his school to a district championship. He graduated from Lake Placid High School in 1987. From there, he went to college at South Florida Community College in Avon Park, FL on a basketball scholarship and then transferred to Southeastern College in Lakeland, FL, majoring in teaching Social Studies for secondary education while playing collegiate basketball at both schools. During his senior year in college, he met the love of his life, Suzie; later having his two sons, Eric III and DJ. After graduating college, he began his passion for teaching and coaching basketball which led him to many different towns and cities across Florida, Colorado, and Kansas where he retired from teaching last year. He taught and coached at many schools and served many students and athletes over the course of his life. He also shared his passion for sports as a sports writer for the Lake Placid Journal and this last year he was a radio commentator for Goodland basketball. He was also a skilled handyman, having helped in the renovation of many houses and properties over the years, which was a skill he was passed down by his beloved grandfather “Pete” Jenkins. He lived his life guided by his love for his family, his faith in Jesus Christ, his dedication to serving others, and his passion for sports and history. He embodied the virtues of loyalty, dedication, and hard work until the day he died.

As a teacher, he has taught many topics including Social Studies, PE, Special Education, and others. He coached basketball, football, baseball, track and field, and helped with others. In his personal time, he enjoyed cooking, reading current events and sports, watching history and sports documentaries, shopping online, listening to classic rock and country music, lifting weights, and recently enjoyed his time working on their new farm after his retirement from teaching. But more than anything, Eric enjoyed spending time with his family— he was married to Suzie, for 32 years, he loved watching and encouraging his boys to play sports and hope that they loved sports as much as him, always telling stories and jokes, getting into friendly but lively debates, and sharing wisdom from his own experiences and the knowledge passed on from many others along the way. He was also passionate about being “Grumpy” to his grandchildren.

Eric was an extremely loyal guy and had many close friendships— he was a member of “The Southeastern Boys” and the “Whiskey Rebellion”, whom consisted of his best friends from college (Joel Johnson, Dave Ternent, Trent Thompson, Digger Beck, Brett Short, Brice Bossardet, Matt Francis, Todd Selkirk, Scott Nations, Wally Skoglund, Rev. Allen Griffin and Coach Scott Laing). Eric also had many other close friends that he made throughout his years in high school (especially David Roush, Donavan Mathews, Mike Ritacco, Andy Tuck) and his years of teaching and coaching (David Tiemens, the late Chris Hall, Taylor Calvert, Mikey Doll, Dawn McNew, Jordan Moshier, Chase Topliff). Eric has also kept in contact with many of his former students and players (Devin Loyd, Jamal Davis, Sam Jinright, Champ Chaney, Frankie Lightfoot, Clay Clawson, BJ Edwards, Matt Stephenson, Jordan Chambers, Larry and Bobby Bache). Eric was built like a Grizzly Bear, but had the gentle demeanor of a Teddy Bear, and a laugh that was somehow bigger than his size and infectious to those around him.

Eric is survived by his wife - Jacqueline “Suzie” Conner; sons - Eric Kent Conner III (Baileigh) and Donovan Jenkins Conner (Haylie); daughter - Emma Juliet Conner; six grandkids - Vera Jo Conner, Olivia Smith, Marquise Smith, Wyatt, Preston, and Paisley; his father, Eric Conner; brothers- Lance Conner (Shannon), Kelly Conner, Chris Adkins (Michelle), Dirk Conner (Jenna), and Darrel Conner (Jenna); sisters- Andrea Conner and Paula Shives (Todd); his brother-in-laws, Mark Tharp (Selena) and Ray Tharp (Claudia) and many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Eric was preceded in death by his mother, Vivian Joy Conner, his maternal grandparents- Cokie and Pete Jenkins and paternal grandparents- Hazel and Narl Conner, his inlaws- Vera and Mark Tharp and his younger brother, Trent Conner.

A funeral service to celebrate Eric’s life will be held in Kansas at 3:30 PM, Saturday, May 2nd, at the First Baptist Church in Goodland, KS. Another service will be held at a venue to be determined in Lakeland, FL on October 17th, 2026. In lieu of flowers, any funds that were intended can be contributed to the Coach Eric Conner Memorial Fund, which will be used to help young athletes participate in summer sports camps.

Memorials may be made out to the Coach Eric Memorial Fund and may be left at the services or mailed to Koons-Russell funeral Home at 211 N Main Ave., Goodland, Kansas 67735.