Bradley and Son Funeral Homes Page 1 of 2

Home List Current List All View Memorial

Memorials Memorials
Memory Guestbook Charities Login
Tributes

Search Memorials (Last Name) Advanced

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 2-
4 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.

file://C:\Documents and Settings\Kevin\My Documents\downloads\Conway\Bradley and S... 7/15/2007

Bradley and Son Funeral Homes Page 2 of 2

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.”

Send to Friend Send Condolences to Family Send Flowers Print Memorial

Home | All Memorials | Current Memorials

View Memorial | Photo Gallery | Guestbook | Charities
Family Login

©2003 Bradley and Son Funeral Homes and FuneralNet

file://C:\Documents and Settings\Kevin\My Documents\downloads\Conway\Bradley and S... 7/15/2007

Bradley and Son Funeral Homes Page 1 of 4

Home List Current Memorials List All Memorials View Memorial

Memory Tributes Guestbook Charities Login

Search Memorials (Last Name) Advanced

Home > Current Memorials > William A. Conway, Jr. > Guestbook

Guestbook for William A. Conway, Jr. Showing 1 - 4 of 4 entries.

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

file://C:\Documents and Settings\Kevin\My Documents\downloads\Conway\Bradley and S... 7/15/2007

Bradley and Son Funeral Homes Page 2 of 4

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

file://C:\Documents and Settings\Kevin\My Documents\downloads\Conway\Bradley and S... 7/15/2007

Bradley and Son Funeral Homes Page 3 of 4

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

file://C:\Documents and Settings\Kevin\My Documents\downloads\Conway\Bradley and S... 7/15/2007

Bradley and Son Funeral Homes Page 4 of 4

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

Home | All Memorials | Current Memorials

View Memorial | Photo Gallery | Guestbook | Charities
Family Login

©2003 Bradley and Son Funeral Homes and FuneralNet

file://C:\Documents and Settings\Kevin\My Documents\downloads\Conway\Bradley and S... 7/15/2007