William A. Conway Obituary (2006)

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Home > Current Memorials > William A. Conway, Jr. William A. Conway, Jr. Born in Newark, NJ on Apr. 16, 1910 Departed on Mar. 31, 2006 and resided in Summit, NJ. Visitation: Tuesday Apr. 4, 2006 Service: Wednesday Apr. 5, 2006 Cemetery: Fair Mount Cemetery Please click on the links above for locations, times, maps, and directions.

Conway, Jr., William A., a faithful Roman Catholic, on March 31, 2006 in his bed in his home in Summit, where he lived on and off since 1944. Beloved husband of Margaret Mary "Peggy" Higgins since 1936. Peggy preceded him in death by 14 years. Father of William A. Conway, III of Denver, CO; Mrs. Kathy Carlson of St. Thomas, USVI; Mrs. M. Angela Cullen of White Plains, NY; Mr. Robert K. Conway of Sultan, WA; Mrs. Margaret M. Miller of Summit; Ms. Mary E. Conway of Ann Arbor, MI and Mr. John M. Conway of Sultan, WA. Brother of the late Mary Ferguson of Kenmore, NY. Son of the late William A. and the late Julia McKeon Conway. He is also survived by 12 grandchildren and 12 and counting, great-grandchildren. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 234 Southern Blvd., Chatham Twp. on Wednesday, April 5, 2006 at 10:00 AM. An interment will follow at Fair Mount Cemetery in Chatham. Friends may call at the Wm. A. Bradley & Son Funeral Home, 235 Main Street, Chatham on Tuesday from 24 PM and 7-9 PM. Bill will be remembered for his faith, determination, and loyalty in his lifetime of service and care of family, friends and others. Obit info: March 31st, 2006 at 7:00 am, William A. Conway, Jr. took his last breath of life. He died peacefully in his own home in Summit, with his daughter, Mary, by his side. Poppa, as Bill was known to his family, lead an extraordinary 95 year life. He was born at home on Wakefield Avenue, Newark, NJ on April 16th, 1910 to Julia McKeon Conway and William Aloysius Conway. Poppa was a herald of the Twentieth Century, but, for all that mattered, life on the day of his birth was still very much Nineteenth Century. Horses and buggies ruled the day, horse drawn trolleys sufficed as mass transit. Poppa and his Grandad, Mike McKeon, a retired brakeman on those trolleys, would ride them weekly to Verona, NJ where Mike had to appear in the flesh to pick up his pension.

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Poppa and his only sibling, a sister Mary, led a comfortable life. He was educated in Catholic Parochial Schools in Newark and Bayonne. He was a self-made man who achieved success in business ventures as well as in his personal life. He began his work career at Hudson County National Bank in Jersey City, NJ as a cashier. The Hudson County became his life employer. Poppa rose to become President of the bank. Beginning in the early 1980’s Poppa successfully defended his stockholders from takeover attempts by several fast growing conglomerates. During this period of bank consolidations he merged the bank into the Garden State National Bank then the Fidelity National. The bank survives now as part of the Wachovia organization. Poppa and his wife of 57 years, Margaret (Peggy) Higgins Conway, raised a family of seven children, three boys and four girls: William A. Conway, III of Denver, Colorado; Ms. Kathy Carlson, of St. Thomas Virgin Islands; Mrs. Mary Angela Cullen of White Plains, NY; Mr. Robert Kelly Conway of Sultan, WA; Ms. Margaret Mary Miller Conway of Summit, NJ; Ms. Mary Elizabeth Conway of Ann Arbor, MI; and Mr. John Michael Conway of Sultan, WA. The family resided at 18 Chandler Road in Chatham, NJ for 25 years. During Poppa’s retirement he and Peggy traveled the country visiting their children and grandchildren from the Caribbean to Alaska. Following Peggy’s death in 1992, Poppa’s adventurous spirit found an exploring companion in his son, Robby. The two of them explored America’s West, from the mountains of Colorado to the wilderness of Alaska. Poppa‘s family and friends all embrace his spirit, his sense of humor and his wonderful stories. We mourn his loss. We honor his love of life. We pray for the repose of his soul. And to quote the final words to Poppa by his beloved son, Robby………”You had a good run Dad. You had a good run. We’ll miss you. We love you.”

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April 12, 2006 Fortunately, I have had the blessing of learning much in recent years about the other side of this earthly vail. As I listened to many of the 150 friends and family members who attended this wake, funeral and the Reception afterwards for my dad Bill Conway, I was filled with a strong conviction about his eternal destination. From these guests came forth the sort of stories of which legends are made. It was helpful for me to hear these stories repeated for I was reminded of Christ’s command to all of us, “Love one another, as I have loved you!” And how did he love us? Unconditionally! With no demands made on us, in spite of our human frailty, our weakness before the urges of our flesh and our continued gullibility before the sugar coated lies and temptations of the evil one. Listening to the stories of assembled grandchildren, nieces, nephews, in-laws, relative strangers, children and friends and ordinary people whom he had come to know, I heard from these assembled voices, the stories they volunteered of how he helped them, in life changing ways during their moments of great crisis. Listening to those stories I was reminded of what I always knew in my heart – Bill always loved me unconditionally with no requirement that I do anything in return. From all those stories, I realized that for the most part he loved us all in that quite unassuming way, so I am confident that as Bill took his last breath of air, he departed from the arms of Mary, his beloved youngest daughter, directly to the arms of his waiting Father in heaven. I was blest to be able to arrive 12 hours before Bill departed on his final journey. And while he was not able to offer concrete signs that he was aware of my being there or hearing me, I am told that hearing and

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touch are the last senses to be turned off. So I am sure he heard me tell him, "I love you Pop" and felt me hold his hand and stroke his forehead. I know he is now, with Peggy, his wife, my mom, who preceded him there by 13 years, working on bringing all of us to be there as well. And on a lighter side, we all had the fun of witnessing his humor in action and the effectiveness of his persuasiveness, even with the authorities up there. The morning of his funeral began with a sun filled sky. By the time we were driving to the funeral home at 9 AM it was raining cats and dogs. By the time we arrived at Corpus Christi Church for the 10 AM Mass of Christian Burial, the rain was gradually being mixed with large flakes of snow. By 11 AM, as the pipers picked up as my daughters Anne and Monica finished singing “Take Me To Heaven” and the five granddaughters and Sara, Giles wife, escorted the casket to the waiting cortege, there were two inches of fresh fallen snow on the ground and more coming fast. The cemetery was a scene from an Ansel Adams black and white photograph. The blossoming shrubs and tree limbs were lined with a top coating of white. The blooming forsythia appeared in the words of Angela my sister, to be giant Chinese lanterns of yellow tinged white. The mature forested Fairmont Cemetery was a winter wonderland. As the girls and I disembarked at the beginning of the 200 foot path to his waiting grave site, the only visible colors were black and white, with the gray granite markers framing the 3 foot wide path of green grass, swept nearly clean by the diligent folks from the funeral home. At the head of this ribbon of green lay the casket, resting behind the vibrant colors of the floral arrangements delivered from the church. A half hour later, as we arrived at the Reception, the snow stopped and a bright, warm, spring sun burst through the low fast flying clouds. Nearly every one had the same reaction, “God had given Bill the throttle of the weather train for the morning. And he used it to test our sense of humor.” "What a wonderful send off" was my happy reaction. As the internment ceremony ended, the Piper picked up on the refrain of 'Danny Boy' which we all sang. My brothers Rob and John, who were unable to be there physically, thanks to cell phones, were able to participate in that part of the ceremony with all of us. Fortunately, Mary, my second daughter, held back at the grave site, to have a final moment with her Poppa. So I remained with her for a few moments of continued prayer. As she rose to leave, we both reached forward, stretching over the bouquets, to place our hands on his coffin. Only at that moment did I cry - copiously. The tears rushed from my eyes in a profusion as intense as had been his wonderful

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farewell snow storm. What a catharsis are tears. God is so amazing to have thought of everything for us, don’t you think? Bill Bill Conway Bill Conway Real Estate, LLC 2953 South Peoria Street Suite 101 Aurora, Colorado 80014 303-785-6035 Phone 303-770-7132 FAX William A. Conway, III Apr 12, 2006 Denver, CO Poppa always meant so much to me. I was able to visit poppa in January of 2005 with my son James Maurice Lewis. I gave the name Maurice to my son because of a trip I had taken in 1999 to visit Poppa. Poppa had taken me to the cemetary where our forefather Maurice Conway was buried and I just loved that name. Poppa always made me feel special and I feel so fortunate that he was able to meet my son. I will always cherish the pictures I have of Poppa and James and I will cherish every moment I ever got to spend with Poppa. I will always remember the storeis he told and make sure that his great-granchildren are aware of what an amazing person my Poppa was. He will be dearly missed and always loved and never forgotten! Mary Angela Conway Lewis Apr 11, 2006 Denver, CO Bill was a very dear friend of my Mums. He & Aunt Peggey helped my Mum when I was born back in Jan. '45 as my Dad was in the Navy. I've know the whole wonderful family my whole life. Love, Jan Jan & Corinne Kennedy Apr 11, 2006 Short Hills, NJ Poppa was a great father, grandfather and friend. I will cherish the countless memories that I have of many great family times together with him. The Christmas and thanksgiving dinners, going to lunch or simply chatting with him on the phone about his latest computer problem. Perhaps more than anything, it is his dry sense of humor that I will remember best and miss the most. Another thing about Poppa was his ability to really make you feel like he knew you. Maybe this can be summarized by the little nicknames he gave to his grandchildren and even great grandchildren. He somehow was able to quickly and easily understand what make each one of us

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tick. While I always appreciated how kind my grandfather was to me, I never truly understood what an incredible impact he had on the lives of others until his 90th birthday. Held at a rustic cabin resort in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, the weekend-long birthday party featured quite a bit of reminiscing including the most endearing series of toasts over dinner by an amazing number of friends and family. As each speaker emotionally recounted his or her own special memory of Poppa, it was striking that nearly everyone was positively impacted by Poppa in life-changing ways. Though successful in his business career, it was his charm, friendly demeanor and twinkling eye that really made him special in my mind and helped strangers feel instantly at ease in his presence. He was a collector of friends, picking up new ones wherever he went and whatever he happened to be doing. By the end of the last few speeches those years ago at his birthday celebration, I was reminded of an important life-lesson that a man with friends can never be considered poor. In that way, Poppa was truly one of the richest men I know. While I share the sadness we all feel, I am very proud of the life he lived and the love he gave. Kevin Cullen Apr 4, 2006 Pelham Manor, NY, NY

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