William Miles Conner, born March 27, 1931 to Elmer and Dora Conner, passed away peacefully in his loving wife Marilyn's arms on January 28, 2022.

Bill attended Bryn Mawr Elementary School, Franklin High School, Caltech, and the University of Washington where he received his civil engineering degree and was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity. At age 10 he became the man of the house while his father was engineering roads for the logging industry throughout Washington state. Bill worked summers in the woods with his dad throughout his teenage years.

Upon graduation, Bill worked for various heavy construction firms, including Morrison-Knudsen. He worked on a runway expansion at Mountain Home Air Force Base where he met and married Marilyn Miller (1955). His work took them to Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. Having tired of the nomadic life, they sold their trailer and moved back to Seattle to partner with his brother, John, building apartments and homes as Conner Construction Company.

Bill was a leader in the home building industry, pioneering zero-lot-line homes and winning numerous awards for innovative community designs including stream and sensitive-area restoration and earth-sense homes. He was a lifelong champion of cost-effective housing policies and regulations. He served as president of the Seattle Master Builders and of the Building Industry Association of Washington and as board chair of the Washington Policy Center and the Freedom Foundation. Bill served on boards of The Overlake School and Holy Names Academy.

Bill was an enthusiastic skier. He and Marilyn built a cabin at Alpental near Snoqualmie Pass, spending many memorable winters there with their children. During this time Bill and Marilyn made several of their lifelong friends forging both business and social relationships for years to come. Among those close friends were Rhoady and Jeanne Marie Lee with whom they created Conner Lee Vineyards in central Washington. The grapes from their vineyard were in award-winning wines throughout Washington and allowed them to pursue their winemaking and tasting passions.

Bill loved sharing adventures with family and friends, including cruising the waters from Seattle to Alaska, occasionally charting uncharted segments of the sea floor. He and Marilyn spent many winters in Sun Valley where he was always seen in his CMH one-piece suit until his last run at age 84. He also loved exploring the desert in Baja, wearing out various vehicles and golf clubs at his desert "Caca de Vaca del Golfo." He was ever fixing, making up, and completing projects, and no one was immune from his work ethic expectations!

In addition to his parents, Bill was predeceased by his siblings John, Charlie, and Dorothy, and his granddaughter, Sarah Adicoff. Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Marilyn, children Charlie (Anne Simpson), Cathy (Ted Furst) and Sue (Sam Adicoff), grandchildren Alison (Jordan Ganoff), Madeline Lawrenson (Reed), Willie and Jake Adicoff, great-grandsons Calvin, Canon, and Lincoln, and many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to any of the following: Vision House, Freedom Foundation, Washington Policy Center, Bryn Mawr Methodist Church, University of Washington Dept. of Engineering, or the Sarah Adicoff Foundation for Sarcoma Research at Seattle Children's Hospital.

A memorial will be held at 4PM, Wed, Feb. 16th at Holy Names Academy auditorium, with reception following at Seattle Yacht Club.