Donald Edmund Conway

On the evening of Monday, January 12, 2015, Don passed away at Keystone Assisted Living facility surrounded by family. He was 88, one month shy of this 89th birthday. Donald Edmund Conway was born on February 12, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the second child and first son of Edmund Clyde and Ellen Sophia Conway (Deuker). In 1957, Don met JoAnn Virginia Badolato on a blind date – a picnic planned by their mutual friends. He was smitten and six weeks later, they were engaged. They married in October of 1958. As a boy, Don was very involved with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer and sang in the choir. Reverend Dietze wrote his letter of recommendation to join the US Navy. Don wrote to him during his time in the service. He loved the Boy Scouts and was a Den Chief in his middle and high school years. He really was always prepared! Don was a Veteran of WWII, serving his time in the US Navy. In 1944, he trained at the Great Lakes Naval Base in Chicago, after which he was stationed on the USS Grand Canyon and USS Corry. He HATED peeling potatoes... and this is why... in one of his deployments, he was the ship's cook! Don never spoke much of his time in the Navy, but did mention the places he traveled to... like the Philippines – how poor the people there were – and Italy – where he visited Naples and Pompeii. He also mentioned the Isle of Capri. He loved the beauty of the island. Don was a bit daring – always trying something new. While in Italy, he tried his hand at sledding down a Luge. He said he was never so scared... and would never do it again. Don's sense of adventure didn't end there. He was always dragging his family with him to visit new places – much to their surprise! One summer, while on one of his frequent family camping trips to the Rocky Mountains, he decided that his family (JoAnn, Kathleen and Donna) should cross the Arkansas River… just to get to the other side. He tied a rope to a tree on the riverbank and headed across the slippery rocks and raging river. He was determined to get everyone across. He had a mischievous smile the entire way across the river and chuckled as he beckoned us to follow him as he tied the rope to a tree on the other bank! One by one Don had his two daughters and wife cling for dear life to the rope as they stepped on wet rocks and crossed the river. JoAnn and Kathleen slipped and fell in, but eventually made it to the other side. We all had a good laugh and enjoyed exploring the other side, but dreaded the venture back across that darn river to get home. In 1980, Don and JoAnn were visiting relatives in Washington State. Mount St. Helen's erupted. Don decided he wanted to check it out... and that they did. At least until they were chased out by the State Police! They left, but not before gathering volcano dust to bring home to show their daughters! If you needed a craftsman, Don was your man! He had many skills ranging from cabinetry and upholstery to painting, welding, and all around fix it guy. Don had a keen ability to manage space, color and dimension to make small spaces look spacious and luxurious. He owned his own business, Customaire Interiors, where he designed and installed the interiors of private Lear jets. His client list included John Denver, Perry Como, Pepsi and many, many others. He was a perfectionist… something his clients adored, but his employees... not so much! He was not one to back away from a challenge, and was the first person to install a TV in an airplane! In 1996, Don was asked to refurbish a special plane. It was an AERO COMMANDER U-4B. His colleague had found it in a scrap yard – it was due to be destroyed. The historic value of the plane was not discovered until after it was purchased. This plane was used by President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1956 to 1960 for short trips. It was the smallest Air Force One, and the first presidential aircraft to have only two engines. The U-4B was also the first presidential aircraft to carry the familiar blue and white paint scheme. He was very proud of the fact that he was asked to return it back to the original design and colors used by President Eisenhower. This aircraft was donated to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in 1997. It is located in the Presidential Gallery on a controlled-access portion of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and can be seen there to this day. Don loved a good joke. With good friends and good sports, these jokes often escalated to be a game of king of the mountain. He lost a $100 bet to a brother in law. No worries, let's just get $100 worth of pennies, tape them securely in a line with duct tape, press them into a large brick and wrap the brick in duct tape. Now – let's not end there... put the brick in 2 wooden boxes, nail and glue the boxes shut. Now wait until Christmas and give this to him wrapped as a Christmas present! Or how about the time when he paid a bet off by gluing nickels to the packing peanuts in an empty box. Or even when in assisted living calling the director of the facility all the way down to the other end of hall just to see if he would walk the distance. The stories can go on and on... Don was an extremely charitable man, though no one would have known it. He looked for those that would not necessarily be noticed by others, and offered them the help they needed. While living in Springfield, Illinois, in the late 1960s, the newspaper talked about a fire that destroyed the home of a family and all their possessions and clothes. Don called the paper to be put in touch with the family. He took all the children out and bought them shoes. In the 1980s, while living in Aurora, Colorado, Don provided bolts of leather to a man in an assisted living facility. This man was a cobbler by trade and would make shoes for the residence. He wrote a kind letter of thanks do Don, mentioning that his generous gift would provide shoes to many people. Don was preceded in death by his wife, JoAnn. Though she died 19 years ago, he thought of her daily and often spoke of her with a crack in his voice. He was also preceded by his parents, a sister Virginia Ellen, a brother Richard Clyde and a brother in law Jack Anthony Heil. Don will be missed terribly by his daughters Kathleen Ann (David) Quintana, Donna Jo (Robert Zasuly) Irvin; grandchildren, Kristen Quintana, Patrick and Sherri (Limes) Quintana, Jillian Quintana, MaryAnn Quintana, Alexa Zasuly; sisters Joyce Dorothy (Jack) Heil, Shirley Mae (John) Hecht and Judy Ellen (Bill) Schwend and many nieces and nephews. A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Marks Catholic Church, 3141 West 96th Avenue, Westminster on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 1pm. After the service, a reception will be held at Keystone at Legacy Ridge Senior Living. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to: Keystone at Legacy Ridge Senior Living (for activities for their Veteran residents) 11180 Irving Drive, Westminster, Colorado 80031 or Denver Hospice 501 South Cherry Street, Suite 700, Denver, Colorado 80246 Please share your memories of Donald and condolences with his family by signing the Guestbook below.