A 20-year-old University of Georgia student from White Plains in Greene County died in a South Lumpkin Street house fire in Athens April 16, according to reports.
Conner Strickland, who attended Lake Oconee Academy and Nathanael Greene Academy and had connections to both schools, is being mourned by family friends in Lake Country. Strickland was in the Terry Business College at UGA and was an active member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
He was the son of Michael David Strickland and Rynee Parker Strickland.
Fire and EMS personnel arrived residence at 4:47 a.m. and found heavy flames visible. Two residents told them that Strickland was trapped inside.
Firemen found Strickland and pulled him from the building. He was taken to local hospital where he died of his injuries.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Mourners took to social media last week to express their sadness at the young man’s passing.
“RIP my sweet baby,” his mother, Rynee Strickland wrote on Facebook. “We miss you so bad. But will do our best to put a big smile on our face every day and live life to the fullest just like you did for your short 20 years. Conner Strickland, you left this world too soon, but you will ever be forgotten.”