Timothy Douglas Conner, 78, also known by his pen name TD Conner, was born December 14, 1943, son of Frances Brown and Douglas A Conner, died in Savannah, GA on May 17, 2022. 

He was a writer, publisher, and businessman, best-known locally for his 2003 book, “Ironwork of Savannah.”  He wrote about Civil War history and area military engagements specifically.  His 2002 book on Civil War occurrences and battles, along and near the southeastern coast was titles “Homemade Thunder: War on the South Coast 1861-1865.” 

Tim Conner attended Blessed Sacrament School and was a 1962 graduate of Benedictine Military School.   He was a 1967 honors graduate of the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia and worked as an editor for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, where he was part of that newspaper’s late 1960’s team coverage of then-District Attorney Jim Garrison’s investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the New Orleans events surrounding the demise of JFK later to become the subject of one of Conner’s books.  He was also the initial rock music critic for the New Orleans publication.

After studies at the graduate school of Louisiana State University, Conner returned to Savannah.  He opened Colonial Historic Tours in 1978.  He introduced the first trackless trolley car to the streets of Savannah in October 1979. 

His sightseeing operation, which was also known as Green Trolley Tours, was pronounced the best in the city by the New York Times travel editors’ survey in 1988.  During the mid-1990’s, he also operated Palmetto State Trolley Co. on Hilton Head Island, SC.

His first tourism guidebook of Savannah was published in 1986.  Conner founded his own publishing company, Wrighplace Press, in 2002.  His Savannah/Hilton Head guidebook sold thousands of copies in multiple revised and updated editions and under various titles until 2009 when he retried it under the title “Savannah: Guidebook for the New Century.”

He sold his fleet of trackless trolleys to an out-of-town company in 1993 and began expanding his publishing ventures.

Conner’s poems and articles appeared in, among other publications, The Old Mole in Boston; The NOLA Express; The Carolina Anvil in Durham, NC; the Hartford (CT) Times; the Savannah Literary Journal; and The New Orleans Times-Picayune.

He began a Savannah walking tour service in 1997, A Haunted History Walk.

Tim was a onetime member of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee.  He was a 3rd -degree Knights of Columbus Council 631. 

He is survived by his sisters, Liz Blasko of Westport, CT, and Kathy Kelshaw of Savannah, GA, and one brother, Michael Conner, as well as several nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his brother, Stephen Conner.

A private burial was held in Riverside Cemetery in Albany, Georgia.