Clare Hartwick Connor

Clare Hartwick Connor died on January 13, 2025. She was born on August 16, 1939, in Detroit, Michigan to Edward N. and Louise Fisher Hartwick. A lifetime resident of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, she attended Trombley School and graduated from Liggett School in 1957. She attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where she graduated with a B.A. degree in 1961 and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. After college, she earned a degree at the Katherine Gibbs school in Boston, Massachusetts.
After working briefly as a legal secretary, she married Laurence D. Connor in 1964 while he was attending Michigan Law School. They moved to Detroit after law school and then to Grosse Pointe where they raised two children. There, she was active in the Junior League of Detroit, Tau Beta Association and other civic organizations. She was a member of the Garden Club of Michigan, the Junior League Gardeners, the Country Club of Detroit and the Oaks Club of Sarasota, Florida. A gifted artist, she enjoyed painting and produced many works of art which she displayed in her homes and gave to friends and relatives. She also enjoyed gardening and entertaining. For a period of time she ran a business called Connor Design and Accessories, acquiring and selling novelties.
In the early years, the family passed time in the summer at their cottage in Leland, Michigan. Later, they visited Florida and eventually spent most of the winters in Sarasota.
Her grandfather, Major Edward E. Hartwick, was a member of the U.S. Army who served with Teddy Roosevelt's Roughriders at the Battle of San Juan Hill. In 1927, her grandmother, Karen Hartwick, donated nearly 10,000 acres of land near Grayling Michigan to the State of Michigan in Major Hartwick's memory, which became Hartwick Pines State Park.
She was an active, caring person who enjoyed people and making them happy.
She is survived by her husband, Laurence Connor, her two children Jeffrey (Erika) and Lynne Scoville (Laurence), grandchildren Alexandra and Benjamin Connor, and Louise and Katherine Scoville, and her brother, Alan Hartwick.
A memorial visitation will take place at the funeral home on Monday, January 27th from 3pm - 7pm.