Wisconsin man bikes through Cape as tribute to daughter, organ donation

On his journey to honor his daughter’s memory and bring attention to the need for organ donation, Bill Conner is biking more than 2,600 miles from Madison, Wisconsin, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he hopes to land in mid-July.

“Obviously, it’s a tragedy,” Conner said. “This isn’t about me. It’s about honoring Abbey and organ donation. I’m carrying a torch for her because she can’t.”

Abigail “Abbey” Conner, 20, died in January at a resort in Mexico, her father said.

On Jan. 7, Abbey and her brother were pulled from a pool, unconscious.

Her brother was able to make a full recovery and graduated from college a week ago Sunday, Bill Conner said, but Abbey was gone.

A sign remembering Abbey Conner, the daughter of Bill Conner, who is riding from Madison, Wisconsin, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for organ-donor awareness after his daughter was found dead in a pool in Mexico.Andrew J. Whitaker

Bill Conner said someone likely spiked their drinks.

“They were at the resort less than two hours,” he said.

“Donating her organs took a lot of the sting out of losing her,” Conner said.

Conner will be meeting Jack, the recipient of Abbey’s heart, on the next leg of his trip, he said.

He did not reach out to the recipients, he said, as their identities are sealed. Instead, the organ donation organization RTI Donor Services sent letters to each recipient detailing Bill Conner’s plan to bike more than 2,600 miles in tribute.

Bill Conner shows off bracelets he has received from people in support for his journey for organ-donor awareness.Andrew J. Whitaker

Jack, the heart recipient, was the only one to respond, but, Bill Conner said, “The one I wanted to see was the heart [recipient], because you think he’s alive? Abbey’s alive, inside him.”

Even as this ride is a tribute to his daughter’s memory and a way to raise awareness about the far-reaching benefits organ donation has, Bill Conner said there are still practicalities to observe.

He carries pepper spray, he said, and a Wiffle bat to discourage overzealous dogs.

Thursday, Conner biked down Highway 72 from Fredericktown to Cape Girardeau, he said.

“I take the better route,” he said. “I’m not into scenery. I gotta ride.”

Bill Conner looks at maps in the hotel lobby of the Pear Tree Inn on his journey from Wisconsin to Florida for organ-donor awareness.Andrew J. Whitaker

He tries to avoid hills, but in this area of Missouri, that’s not easy to do, he said.

“I’ll be glad when I get where it’s flatter,” he said.

He’s been meeting generous strangers since beginning his trek May 22, he said. People have bought him meals, paid for hotel rooms for him, even handed him a bottle of Gatorade.

“There are good people out here,” he said.

Conner said he needs to average at least 70 miles per day to make his scheduled stop in Fort Lauderdale, where a beachfront celebration will include a keg of Guinness and a reception crowd. The people present will have a chance to share their own experiences with organ donation and how it’s touched them, Conner said, and he’ll hand Abbey’s ashes out so everyone present “can just let her go” into the ocean.

Bill Conner looks at maps in the hotel lobby of the Pear Tree Inn on his journey from Wisconsin to Florida for organ-donor awareness.Andrew J. Whitaker

Conner said he’s posting his progress on his Facebook page and has been hearing from many supportive people. Some have lost children; some have received donated organs. That’s been encouraging, Conner said.

“But it’s all about Abbey,” he said.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Bill ConnerAndrew J. Whitaker

Pertinent address:

Madison, Wis.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.