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Obituary: John J. Conway Model citizen whose hobby was helping people Tuesday, December 28, 1999 By Gary Rotstein, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
John J. Conway adopted a daily routine in retirement that made him a Lawrenceville citizen admired for his generosity.
He would walk each day from his Calvin Street home up the hill to St. Francis Medical Center and ask at the front desk for the names of individuals newly admitted to the hospital. Anyone even remotely familiar to the lifelong neighborhood resident could count on receiving newspapers, flowers, gum or something else that might brighten his day.
It was such efforts that made Mr. Conway popular with neighbors and acquaintances and made him recipient of a 1989 Volunteer of the Year award from the Eastside Alliance community group.
"He was just doing things for everybody all the time," said John Leahy, a longtime friend and neighbor. "The only hobby he had was helping people."
Mr. Conway, 90, died Thursday at the medical center of Presbyterian SeniorCare in Oakmont. He had had Alzheimer's disease for seven years, and had entered Presbyterian SeniorCare's Woodside Place residence for dementia care in 1993.
Mr. Conway was known as a regular guy, working in electrical maintenance and raising a family most of his pre-retirement life, but when he hit 65, he began putting much of his energy into volunteer work. He undertook a variety of tasks, such as running errands and doing shopping for the elderly and disabled.
Some of the help he provided was of his own volition, but he also provided service as a deacon at St. Mary Church and through involvement in the Meals on Wheels program and the American Association of Retired Persons local chapter.
His other contributions were just little things he did for people on his own. In addition to the hospital visits, Mr. Conway picked up prescription medicine for people who were unable to get out of their homes easily. He made shopping trips on behalf of the disabled, such as to purchase clothes for a blind person.
He attended funeral Masses of slight acquaintances to show consideration for their families. He shoveled snow for frail neighbors and called the numbers at the bingo games at St. Mary.
"My Dad was just the kind of guy who worked for his family most of his life, and when he retired he wanted to give back to the community," said his daughter, Eileen C. Iorio of Bethel Park. "He didn't have a lot of degrees and credentials, but the people in Lawrenceville knew him for a lot of little, quiet things he did for people. ... Having been from Lawrenceville all his life, if any poor soul needed anything, he would be there."
In addition to Iorio, Mr. Conway is survived by three other daughters, Carol A. James of Apollo, Geraldine A. Kohler of McCandless and Gloria Marshalwitz of Saxonburg; a son, William J. Conway of Scott; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
A Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today in St. Mary Church of Our Lady of the Angels Parish, 340 46th St., Lawrenceville. Burial will be in St. Augustine Cemetery in Millvale. Beinhauer-Lutz Funeral Home in Lawrenceville is handling arrangements.
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