MICHAEL C. CONNOR

SHOREHAM — Michael C. Connor, 77, of Shoreham passed away on April 20, 2025. He was born Dec. 22, 1947, in Providence, R.I., to Leo and Barbara Connor. The third of 13 children, he had many happy memories of life on the family farm with loving siblings and parents. Whether doing chores, reading with an apple under a tree, or playing baseball, all things were done with the Connor family good cheer, fondness for jokes, and appreciation for the beauty of God’s creation.

From an early age, Mike was known for having a mechanical mind and being the one to call to repair a broken piece of equipment or devise an innovative solution. After moving with his family to Bridport, Vt., in 1962, Mike graduated from MUHS and Providence College. While in college, he developed a love for historic New England architecture from the many examples around the cities of Providence and Newport.

When his future wife, Linda, encouraged him to try building a home for her and her many dogs, his career as a homebuilder was launched. His talents and interests, combined with Linda’s design skills, formed an ideal partnership. They grew the business with their two young daughters always nearby, whether working at job sites or studying historic houses on family vacations.

He was driven by a sense of responsibility to build homes that would stand the test of time in both design and quality. When demand for these beautiful, historically accurate homes grew beyond Vermont, Mike pioneered a manufacturing process he called “mill-built architecture.” Hundreds of Connor homes now exist throughout the northeast and beyond as a lasting testament to his and Linda’s work. Their company was asked to design a collection of homes for Winterthur Museum and became the only builder of an entirely new home to be featured in a season of This Old House.

Mike showed an interest in music at a young age. His first guitar was purchased by his mother using Green Stamps, a sacrifice that he remembered his whole life. Gifted with a beautiful tenor voice, he sang and played banjo and guitar with Snake Mountain Bluegrass for over 40 years, and played every evening at home for his family, for fun, and for his cat, Gromit who listened happily from his seat inside the open instrument case.

But his most enduring legacy is of love and humor. Never one to engage in pomposity or to get worked up over little things, almost any situation — from sibling squabbles, to cleaning the horse barn, to the stresses of business ownership — could be improved by his signature blend of jokes and humorous poetry.

Some of the greatest appreciators of his good humor were little kids, who surrounded him all his life, from younger siblings, to his daughters and grandchildren. It’s difficult to say if he brought them more joy or if they brought him more, but he was always happy to have them nearby, whether he was working or playing. Blessed with an understanding of human nature and a belief in everyone’s good intentions, kids and adults alike went to Mike when they needed a sympathetic ear or empathetic advice. The greatest beneficiaries of his gentle nature were his daughters, who as children knew that he was always available to them for silliness or comfort, and as adults for loving guidance or a helping hand.

He is predeceased by his parents and his infant brother, Joseph. He is survived by his wife, Linda; daughters Tabitha and her husband Michael Gillim of Millburn, N.J., and Sarah and her husband Charlie Horn of Manassas, Va.; grandchildren Bennett, Henry, Catherine, Genevieve, Charlotte, Elizabeth “Bonnie”, and George; siblings Jerry, Billy, Paul, Chris, Linda, Mary, Bobbie, Beth, Caroline, Peter, and Jonathan; and many brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Saturday, April 26, at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church in Middlebury. Calling hours will be Friday, April 25, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Sanderson-Ducharme Funeral Home.◊