Connor Stanley Kaminski

Connor Stanley Kaminski passed away unexpectedly at the age of 31 after an abdominal infection that led to multiple organ failure and sepsis. Connor died with his parents and family by his side at Miami Valley Hospital on November 4, 2024 in Dayton, OH.

Connor is survived by his parents, Doug and Connie Kaminski of Dayton, OH, currently residing in Fond du Lac, WI; daughter, Lennon Rose Kaminski; sisters, Emily Sraj (Ryan) of Cincinnati, OH, Elise Kaminski of Cincinnati, Madeline O’Hara (Devin) of Pensacola, FL, Lilianne Kaminski of Columbus, OH; brother, Shane Kaminski of Minneapolis, MN; nieces, Joeleen, Amelia, and Rynn (Emily and Ryan) and baby to be born in December (Madeline and Devin); grandfather, Stanley Kaminski of Dayton, OH, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is preceded in death by grandparents, Helen Kaminski of Dayton, OH, Audrey and Lawrence Nelsen of Albert Lea, MN; uncle, Robb Kaminski of St. Pete, FL, and cousin, Peter Johnston of Red Lake Falls, MN. 

Connor was born on June 3, 1993 in Dayton, OH to Doug and Connie Kaminski. He attended Holy Angels school and graduated from Chaminade Julienne High School in 2012. He spent the majority of his youth and early adulthood playing competitive ice hockey, where he thrived. He continued his career playing Juniors on the East Coast for two years. He returned to Dayton where he explored career options in woodworking and construction. Connor was a creative individual who loved working with his hands.

His daughter, Lennon, will remember him as a loving father who adored her each and every day. He spent every moment he could with her and family. They share the same adventurous spirit and fearlessness. They loved to go swimming at the YMCA and drawing on the chalk wall in Connor’s home.

Connor was passionate about playing and watching sports. He enjoyed playing golf with his parents, sister, Madeline, and brother-in-law, Ryan. He was a generous and dedicated individual who loved his family and would drop anything to be there for them. He recently spent a lot of his time helping to care for Papa, (Stanley Kaminski.) He was a dear friend and neighbor to many. He was the protective “big” brother to all of his siblings, even though he was number four in the line-up of six kids.

The visitation will be at Routsong Funeral Home (2100 E Stroop Rd Kettering, OH 45429) on November 12th from 5:00-8:00 pm. The funeral is scheduled for 11:00 am on November 13th at Holy Angels Catholic Church (1322 Brown St Dayton, OH 45409), with a reception celebrating Connor to follow at NCR Country Club (4435 Dogwood Trail Dayton, OH 45429). All are welcome to attend and celebrate Connor’s life. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to a fund for Lennon’s education at https://www.ugift529.com code: Z57-V5Q. 

 The family would like to thank all the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff for their care provided to Connor.

Reflections From A Friend: 

Introduction: Thanks Fr. Greg. Good morning. I am honored to be asked by Doug and Connie to read the Words of Remembrance that their family has written to honor Connor.

The Kaminski family thanks you for being here today to celebrate Connor’s life and to commend his soul to the Lord.

For those present who are unaware, Connor died after a brief illness that turned severe due to complications from an underlying condition.

Connor was the fourth of six children that Connie and Doug have been blessed with. He was their first boy, and pretty much from day one became the ‘big brother’.

He was loved so much by his older sisters, it must have left a permanent impression because Connor has been an incredibly kind person throughout his life.

Connor was a beloved son, wonderful and strong brother, a loving father, a giving nephew, a dedicated grandson, and a loyal friend.

He was so loved, it is hard to quantify the depth of that love.

As a son, brother, father, and friend, Connor was as perfect as an imperfect human being can be.

He loved, and was loved by his aunts, uncles, and cousins. Connor had close friendships with his Uncles Timm and Mark, and Aunt Kara and Uncle Jimmy. He recently met some cousins for the first time at a family funeral in Arizona, and it was as if Connor had known them his entire life.

That was just “our” Connor.

Connor bounced around in the first few years of his life. It was very evident that he was incredibly coordinated and wanted to keep up with his big sisters. At 18 months old, Connor was already riding a 2-wheel scooter. By the age of 2, Connor was able to ride a bicycle without training wheels, but initially did not know how to brake. We can all picture Dr Doug running behind Connor to assist him with stopping at the appropriate times. 

Pre-K was an experience at St. Alberts. Connor would chase mom or dad down the hallway and into the parking lot once he realized they weren’t going to stay. It took Doug and Connie a few weeks to convince Connor that mom and dad would always come back to pick him up after school. Connor then attended Holy Angels from Kindergarten to 8th grade and Chaminade Julienne Catholic HS for 9th thru 12th grade along with his siblings. He graduated from CJ in 2012. Connor formed many lifelong friendships throughout these years, especially while participating in athletics through CYO and high school.

Connor enjoyed all sports. He started at a young age during family events, cheering on the Nebraska and Minnesota teams. He spent summers at NCR Country Club, swimming and playing golf from sun up to sun down. I personally played golf with Connor and Doug many times over the years. Roughly 10 years ago, Connie and her partner won the Women’s member -member during the first week of August. Doug and Connor decided to team up and play the Men’s Mbr-Mbr the second week of August that same year. Both played solid golf that weekend and did a nice job of “hamming and egging” holes. Connor and his dad finished 3rd out of 80 two-man teams, almost pulling off the Kaminski family “Slam” that year at NCR CC.

 Connor also played soccer, volleyball, football, basketball and baseball through the years. More recently, Connor enjoyed disc golf, billiards and bowling with family and friends. Connor was always able to balance his competitive spirit with enjoying the company of the people that he was hanging out with.

Connor started his lifelong love of hockey, on rollerblades at the Kettering Y, at age 5. He quickly transitioned from rollerblades to hockey skates. He first played for the Dayton Bombers Junior Club around age 7. Seems within a year, it was on to travel hockey. Dayton Blue Hawks was the next stop. A few years later onto the Cincinnati Cyclones Junior Club , and then the Queen City Steam. The next step was to Columbus to play for the U16 Bluejackets, then U18 Bluejackets, which was a nationwide league. I remember Doug and Connie describing to me their hockey road trips when Connor played at the U18 level. They saw a lot of the U.S. They were very dedicated hockey parents.

After high school, Connor played for two additional years. He went to Raleigh, North Carolina and played for the East Coast Eagles during the first year. During his second and final year in organized hockey, he went to Maine and was a Captain for the Portland Pirates hockey team.

After a number of injuries, including numerous concussions throughout his hockey playing years, Connor ultimately decided to hang up his skates and come home to Dayton to explore new opportunities and to be closer to family.

While sports took up the majority of Connor’s time, family adventures were a huge part of his life as well. The Kaminski family took yearly trips to Minnesota to visit family and friends, doing weeks at lakes and going to the Mall of America. Nebraska was also a destination hotspot. We went on epic adventures piling into the conversion van and traveling west to east, north to south, south to north, and east to west. Connor always kept us all on high alert as he:

1. Enjoyed scaling rock formations,
2.  disappeared over a cliff in the Black Hills, 
3. swam in many lakes including The Great Salt Lake, and 
4. tried to chase a snake in the grasslands at Little Big Horn. 
5. Connor was always up for an adventure and would generally try to create one wherever we travelled.

Connor enjoyed Birthday trips with Nana and Papa Kaminski that also included some of his siblings and cousins.

Connor started post-high school education a few times. Despite great enthusiasm at the start, his interest would fade. He attended Sinclair Community College, Wright State University, where he also played on the Club Hockey team, and most recently Fortis College, taking HVAC classes.

Connor worked in construction for a number of companies, individuals, and solo on a seasonal basis.

Connor was talented, and a Mr. Fix-it type of guy. He frequently would help out friends and his family, with all types of projects, big and small. Connor would complete a days work by saying “Hard work is good for the soul”.

In 2021, Connor welcomed Lennon, his beautiful daughter with his dear friend Alexandra. Lennon was a blessing to Connor and to the whole Kaminski family. Connor adored her. Lennon became his inspiration and focus.

Connor was also fortunate to spend a significant amount of time recently with his grandfather “Papa Kaminski”, helping out as he recovered from a stroke.

Throughout life, Connor played the roles of big brother, the one to call if you needed your sink looked at, a wall painted, and always said he was willing to get physical to protect one of his siblings. That was true of his hockey life as well. Stories were shared this past week of Connor gliding in to check an opposing player that was going after one of his teammates.

Wanting to be there for others and show up for them took its toll, to the point Connor didn’t always show up for himself. He struggled saying no. The Kaminski family would like to impart a message to all of you in honor of Connor, “please take care of yourselves while finding the right balance for looking out for your loved ones.”

Thank you to all the friends who have left tributes on the website and facebook.

All are meaningful to our family.

- Joe Zehenny