Late in the evening of April 10, 2016, the call from the University of LaCrosse came – Connor had been found unresponsive in his dorm room. The drive from Merton to Gunderson Hospital in LaCrosse felt longer than any other drive his family had made. They arrived in the early morning hours of April 11th to find Connor lying lifeless in a hospital bed, intubated, and cold to the touch. Now the question for his parents and older brother was, “Will he survive?” Three and a half days later at the MAYO Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, the life-changing answer for Connor’s family was no, the permanence of which remains crippling. Connor fell victim to an opioid overdose, and we are here to help educate and enlighten that opioids like prescription drugs and heroin know no boundaries.

Connor was a Christmas Eve baby, 1996, and was the beloved son of Michelle Lee (Steve Markgraf) and James Glynn. He was a proud brother to Ryan Glynn and Benjamin Markgraf. As we lost Connor too young, he is survived by loving grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and dear friends. Connor embraced life to its fullest from little on and was always actively involved in sports such as baseball, football, snowboarding, and tennis. Connor’s smile would brighten a room. His curiosity, self-discipline, and drive were unmatched. He inspired those around him with challenge and encouragement. Connor had his entire life ahead of him.

This opioid epidemic of prescription drugs, opiates, and heroin robbed Connor of the life he may have had and deprived his family of the opportunity to watch him embrace it like he had embraced everything else. His family was unaware that he had experimented. He was a typical, happy, suburban young man who dreamed of going off to college to begin the next phase of his life. The Connor Glynn Foundation is dedicated to spreading Connor’s story as well as caution that it can happen to all of us.