News of his passing stirred the whole community.  The faculty and staff met in the chapel  for prayer during the scheduled late start. Department meetings were cancelled.

The whole school met for a prayer service in the gym during first period.

Connors touched the lives of many students in a variety of ways.

“I had Mr. Connors for Geometry during my Sophomore year,” said senior Travis Breyssee. “He was the only math teacher I had that made me enjoy math class.  There was one class when Mr. Connors was telling us about great programs that people had made on their calculators.  At the time he was mentioned it, I was already writing a program that could take any four points on a coordinate plane and determine what shape it made. I showed Connors what I was doing, and he got excited about it, saying it would be awesome if I finished it. I kept him posted and near the end of the first semester, I finished it. . . . He was so excited  about it that he wanted me to print out the code so he could see it. Mr. Connors suggested that I should take computer science classes the next year because I was so proficient at it.  Today I still want to go into computer science in college, and I owe it to Mr. Connors for inspiring me.”

“Mr. Connors was my math teacher during my junior year, math was never my favorite or strongest subject, but being in his class was never torture,” said senior Anna McGuigan. “He made learning enjoyable and was always a bright way to start my day. Over the summer I went for a week long service immersion trip to Tijuana Mexico. Mr Connors was one of the adults who came with us. He was always happy to be working and never complained. He was my small group leader for reflection every day and was so humble and selfless. The questions for reflection always revolved around our ‘call to service’ or how we felt about what we were doing, but Mr. Connors answer was always the same he would say that it didn’t matter how he felt or why he was went. He went to help people and that was it. He was a truly selfless man who wanted to help others.”

“Mr. Connors was a very special teach to me,” said junior Christian Peterson. “I had classes with him freshman and sophomore year for math and I even planned to take classes next year solely because he was the teacher. Not seeing him at school has been very sad this year. From not seeing him in the halls to not seeing all the Blanchet soccer jerseys hanging in class 309 it has shown how much he meant to me. Everyday I had him he had a smile on his face and he rarely would teach a class without making copious amounts of jokes and adding humor to what most people might think as the boring class of geometry and trigonometry. One of my favorite things he ever did with my class was the Barbie doll bungee jumping project. Where he would bring in his daughters Barbie dolls and let us bungee jump them off the third floor with rubber bands. Luckily my group did not break any Barbie dolls cause he said he would fail us if we did. He was a model teacher and person and exemplified what it means to be a brave.”

Connors touched lives outside the classroom as well.

“Over the summer I had the opportunity to travel down to Tijuana with a group from St. Catherine to build houses,” said senior Julian Kaizuka. “Mr. Connors happened to be part of that group.  Together we build houses, went to orpahnages, watched the World Cup, and of course, played some soccer.  Working alongside him and laughing hard with him let me see the great man he is.  He will be truly missed.”

“It’s hard for me to imagine never seeing Mr. Connors again,” said senior Tanner Noebel. “I’ll never get to see him strolling through the halls or coaching us boys out on the field. His constant humor and positive vibe made him so much of the person we all love. He’s inspired me through soccer more than anyone before. His passion and intensity never let down. I fondly remember one practice junior year when we were practicing corner kicks. Boss just had to get in on the action. He would make his runs into the box and take out anyone in his way. Everyone thought his aggression and intensity was so funny, but it was really just who he actually was. I never had him as a teacher, but I’ll always cherish our times together on the soccer field. This upcoming season will be a difficult one without him. He was the team’s heartbeat. Connors was truly blessed to have someone as strong as Mrs. K beside him to help fight his fight. I admire her and his daughters so much for what they had to go through. It’s painful to see him go after giving his all for three months, but I know God takes the good ones for a reason. Rest easy Boss, you’ll always be remembered.”

Information about his services will be released in the next few days.