Stephen J. Conway Jr.

February 19, 1923 - January 7, 2020

Stephen J. Conway Jr., age 96, finished his journey here on earth and went to be with God on January 7, 2020, at NuRoc Nursing Home after a long and incredible life. Steve, aka Buster, was born February 19, 1923, the sixth and youngest son of Stephen J. Conway Sr. and Ollie (Fenton) Conway. He was born in “The Conway House” on Polk Street and except for the time he served in the Air Force during WW II, he spent the entirety of his life in Crandon. He grew up in Crandon and graduated from Crandon High School in 1941. He then enlisted in the Army Air Corps and trained to fly in Florida, eventually becoming a B17 pilot with the 463rd Bomb Group of the 15th Air Force. He was a decorated pilot flying 42 missions out of Italy with 30 over target. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroics in completing a mission after losing all but one engine on his plane and as a result of his experiences and his abilities, he developed a life-long love of flying. He was a charter member of the EAA and part owner of a private plane that he flew until health issues made continuing as a pilot impossible. He was known to be a highly accomplished and capable pilot by all who knew him or who flew with him. He was honored by the community in having the airport that he helped create and managed for over 50 years named in his honor—the Crandon/Steve Conway Municipal Airport. He was an incredibly proud veteran who epitomized patriotism and instilled a love of God and country in his children. Steve returned to Crandon following the war and on March 23, 1946 he married Bette J. Lombard in the house where he was born. He started the Crandon Cleaners on Madison Street and over time also had an insurance company and eventually, with his wife Bette, he purchased the Forest Abstract Company. He ran this company until his final retirement in November, 2013, at the age of 90. Steve was very active in the Masonic Lodge and in 2015, he celebrated 70 years as a member of the Crandon Lodge. He earned a number of Masonic degrees including the Knights of the York Right Cross of Honor. He was also a member of the Tripoli Shrine and was well known in Masonic circles for his talents in the fraternity. Steve was active in the community as a member of the Crandon School Board for a number of years as well as being an active member of the American Legion following his military service and until the time of his death. He was a loyal and supportive member of St. Luke’s Methodist Church and raised his family in that congregation. Steve and Bette raised five children in Crandon and he was involved in many supportive activities involving his kids. He was an incredible father and his life was always about his family. He was involved with Little League when the boys were young, built a camper and took them all camping every weekend all summer long for many years and worked 5 ½ to 6 days a week to provide for his family. He was always there for his kids and was loyal in attending school and extracurricular activities. Many summer weekends were spent going to “air shows”, something that was part of the life of the family in accordance with his love of flying. He encouraged and supported his children’s dreams and his influence was profound. After all of his kids were out of school and with families of their own, Steve and Bette spent 20 years or so traveling to Florida each winter—though they always returned home for two weeks at Christmas. Steve never wanted to be away from family at Christmas. When travel became too much of a challenge because of health issues, they stayed in Crandon year around and Steve spent many hours in his workshop making gifts for his family and creating incredible and treasured Intarsia keepsakes for kids and grandkids alike. Steve is survived by his wife of 73 years, Bette as well as his sons Dan (Velma) Conway of Baraboo and Steve (Cathy) Conway III of Crandon and his daughters Rebecca (Tom) Perry of Crandon, Michele (Jim) Falk of Wisconsin Dells, and Cynthia (Tim) Bahr of Crandon. In addition, he is survived by his grandchildren Jim Falk, Ben (Melanie) Niehaus, Valerie Niehaus, Shane (Monica) Conway, Kyle (Toni) Conway, and Rachel (Tony) Conway Bartlett. He is further survived by great-grandchildren Tyler, Makenzie, and Makayla Niehaus; Jayden and Jaycee Tuckwab; Sawyer and Sydney Falk; Jude, Rio, Lennon, and Phoenix Conway; Isabel and Finn Conway; and Jackson Bartlett. He will also be missed by numerous nieces and nephews for whom he served as the family patriarch as the last of his generation. He was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents; his brothers Mike, Raymond, Richard, Kenneth, and Donald; sisters-in-law Lois and Deloyce Conway; his grandson Jason Falk; and nephew Kenneth “Jim” Conway. Steve was an incredible man who was revered by his family. He lived a good life and loved his God, his wife, and his children in that order and loved living in Crandon. He was a very intelligent man and had an incredible memory as well as a marvelous sense of humor. He raised his kids with a strong work ethic and with the understanding that they could do anything they wanted if they wanted it bad enough and worked for it. His children all remained devoted to him until his passing and he knew he could always count on them to look out for him and his needs as well as those of their mother. “You don’t know my kids” he would tell the nurses in hospitals when they questioned his request to contact his family at 3 a.m. for a need he may have had. And he was right, all were there for him at the drop of a hat—and were honored to be able to do so. He was a great husband, a wonderful father, and a solid friend. He believed in honesty and doing the right thing always—a legacy he left to his children. He left an incredible mark on the world and though he will be sorely missed by his family, they all know he is finally at peace with his God—a peace he earned through his acts but was promised through his belief in Jesus, his Savior. Steve and his life will be remembered and celebrated Saturday, January 11th, at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Crandon. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until 12 noon when services will begin. Interment will be in the Crandon Lakeside Cemetery. In memory of Steve, Memorials appreciated to Shriners Hospital for Children “God made a few perfect heads, the rest he covered with hair” – as a gentleman who lost his hair before the age of 30, that was one of Dad’s favorite statements. God also made a few near perfect fathers—and He gave us one at the top of the list. Thanks for everything, Dad. We were blessed to be your kids and you will be missed more than you will ever know. Love, Dan, Becki, Shelly, Cindy, and Steve. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.weberhillfuneralhome.com