Patrick L. Conner

Published 8:01 am Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Patrick L. Conner

July 12, 1935 – May 26, 2023

Dr. Patrick L Conner died May 26, 2023 at the age of 87. He was born July 12, 1935 in Chamberlain, South Dakota. His parents, Martin and Virginia (Bohen) Conner moved to Aberdeen, Washington when Pat was a child. He spent summers on the South Dakota farm. In high school, he enjoyed playing on the football team and swimming, as well as playing the flute in the band. He got a BA in Chemistry at Whitman University, and his MD at the University of Washington. After graduating from college, he and a buddy hopped freight trains from Seattle to Mexico. He liked to point out the dent in his watch that happened when he jumped off of one. He married Nancy Moren in 1960, and they had two daughters, Robin (Fletcher) and Susan. Starting his career, he worked in the Indian Health Service on the Walker River Reservation in rural Nevada, where resources were tight but the satisfaction in helping was huge. He moved to Bend in 1968 and was the 8th physician in the Bend Memorial Clinic. He loved the high desert, the old western way of life, his dogs, his horses, and critters large and small. He wanted to be remembered as “a decent country doctor and part-time cowboy who always did the best he could.” By his request, there will be no memorial service. If you would like, a donation to the Humane Society of Central Oregon or the Deschutes Basin Land Trust would be something he would have appreciated. Arrangements are under the care of NiswongerReynolds Funeral Home.