Franklin G. Connor Sr., steel executive

Franklin G. Connor Sr., a retired Bethlehem Steel Corp. executive who was active in the Boy Scouts, died April 13 of complications from Parkinson’s disease at Stella Maris Hospice. He was 80.

The son of Fulton I. Connor, who was executive director of the Johnstown, Pa., Housing Authority, and Gladys Gale Connor, a homemaker, Franklin Gale Connor Sr. was born and raised in Johnstown, where he graduated from public schools.

After graduating in 1956 from the University of Richmond, Mr. Connor took a position in regional sales in Baltimore with Shell Oil Co.

He went to work in 1959 at Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point, working in the open-hearth furnace. He was promoted in 1965 to the plant production scheduling department, and, in the 1980s, led several teams to Japan to purchase new technology that would be used in the continuouscasting operation. He retired in 1986. An Eagle Scout, Mr. Connor was leader of Troop 340 in Lutherville and led two expeditions to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. He was also active with the Towson YMCA and had served on its board in the 1970s.

For many years, Mr. Connor was a Dale Carnegie instructor, and one of the anecdotes that he used in class eventually found its way into Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” family members said.

Mr. Connor and his wife built a home in 1999 in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., on Cacapon Mountain, and since 2010, have lived at Mercy Ridge Retirement Community in Timonium.

He enjoyed playing golf and was a member of the Sparrows Point Country Club.

Plans for a memorial service to be held at Mercy Ridge in May are incomplete.

In addition to his wife, the former Kathryn Hollingsworth “Kitty” Alford, Mr. Connor is survived by a son, Franklin Gale Connor Jr. of San Francisco; a daughter, Caryl Connor of Lutherville; and two granddaughters.