Connor Blair McPhail

Connor Blair McPhail was born on March 3, 1993, in Arlington, Texas. He went to be with the Lord on August 25, 2023, in Grapevine, Texas at the age of thirty. He grew up in Southlake, TX and attended the Carroll Independent School District where he enjoyed playing roller blade hockey. He attended Blue Valley Middle School in Overland Park, KS where he played trumpet in the band, then graduated from Blue Valley High School in Stilwell, Kansas where he played trumpet in the marching band and attended the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) program which was the first program of its kind in the nation and won an innovation award from the Edison Foundation. Connor graduated from The University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree majoring in Management with minors in Business Law and Human Resources.
He worked as a securities trader for both Wadell & Reed in Overland Park, Kansas and TD Ameritrade in Southlake, Texas. He studied hard to pass multiple securities license exams in a brief period including the General Securities Principal Examination, Securities Industry Essentials Examination, General Securities Representative Examination and Uniform Combined State Law Examination.
Connor was interested in shortwave radio and was so proud of passing his license exam that he put his callsign on his license plate. He enjoyed studying World War II history and was able to do research into his grandfather's participation in the war. This grew into an interest in foreign languages, especially German, which he studied in college. Connor also aspired to play golf and enjoyed taking lessons.
He enjoyed playing computer video games, especially those involving Virtual Reality (VR). Connor enjoyed working on computers and was impressed that he was able to build his own personal gaming computer. He talked frequently about studying or working in the United Kingdom (UK) or Canada and enjoyed our trips to London, Vancouver, and Victoria. Connor also liked National Hockey League (NHL) games and was a Dallas Stars fan.
Connor was active in the children's ministries at Highland Meadows Christian Church in Colleyville, TX and the youth group at Grace Church in Overland Park, KS.
He is survived by his parents James R. and Diana C. McPhail of Stilwell, KS; his brother Jay McPhail and his wife Dominique of Claremore, OK; his brother Kirk Kirchner and his wife Kaila of Phoenix, AZ, his grandmother Judith Carr of Oklahoma City, OK; his aunt Cindy Carr of Deerfield, IL; his aunt Janice Wilburn and her husband Joe of Afton, OK; and many cousins.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Alliance for Mental Health (NAMI).