Conor Lancaster

News Obituary Article

ROSWELL: Conor Lancaster, 25, had just bought DePalma's restaurant

By HOLLY CRENSHAW

The night before he died, Conor Lancaster raised a shot glass and offered a toast at the restaurant he'd just bought with his brother.

"We toasted to family and the future," said his brother Brian Lancaster of Atlanta. "We toasted to the future together and to good times."

The 25-year-old Roswell resident was realizing his lifelong ambition of becoming an entrepreneur. He and his older brother, along with a friend, had just signed the papers Friday morning to take over DePalma's Italian Cafe in northwest Atlanta, where he would be a manager and co-owner.

Before they scrawled their names on the contract, the celebration had already begun. Last week, Mr. Lancaster sat down at a table at DePalma's and feasted on calamari and pizza with a dozen relatives and bottles of chianti all around.

"You can't even imagine the glow on his face that night," his brother said. "It breaks my heart."

Conor Ryan Lancaster died in his sleep Sunday at his brother's Atlanta residence. The body was cremated. The memorial service is 5 p.m. today at St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church, with a funeral Mass at the church at 7 p.m. Northside Chapel Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements.

The Roswell resident, who was in the process of moving in with his brother, had suffered from asthma and sleep apnea and was devoting 16- and 18-hour days to the new restaurant, said his mother, Dee Dee Lancaster of Roswell.

His brother noticed Mr. Lancaster seemed excessively tired when they left DePalma's around 2 in the morning, after they toasted and hashed over a few ideas.

Still, he said, "It just doesn't make sense that a young man who had just turned 25 would lay down in his bed and not wake up."

Mr. Lancaster graduated from Roswell High School in 2001, studied history and business at Georgia Southern University and had transferred to Kennesaw State University.

The "old soul" side of him, his mother said, read voraciously and was fascinated by the Civil War, Irish history and his own Irish Catholic background. Other times, he cheered the Florida Gators and listened to Pantera and other metal bands. He had just gone out to watch "The Simpsons Movie" with friends.

Mr. Lancaster recently quit his job at Locos Deli & Pub in Buckhead, since his game plan had always been to run his own business. When the opportunity to take over DePalma's with his brother opened up, he was ready.

"He had previous restaurant experience, he was young, eager, hardworking," his brother said. "He loved to learn, loved serving people and making them smile, whether it was with a laugh or a drink or a well-prepared meal."

"His work ethic was so strong," said his friend Patrick Donnelly of Roswell. "Conor worked seven days a week. He worked so much, so hard, and I believe it's all because he knew what he wanted, and he was going after it."

And his personality would have been an ideal addition to DePalma's menu.

"Conor was just this genuinely nice guy, and he had a smile that could light up the room," Mr. Donnelly said.

"He always made you feel welcome, and that would have been the case with this restaurant. I think if he had gotten a chance to run it longer, he would have developed such loyal, regular customers."

In addition to his mother and brother, he is survived by his father, Steve Lancaster of Roswell; a sister, Deneve Lancaster of Roswell; another brother, Stephen Lancaster of Roswell; and his grandparents, Jim and Mary Couch of Altamonte Springs, Fla., and Terry Lancaster of Edgewater, Fla.

© 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution