Joseph Michael "Joe" Conway Sr. was born to his loving parents Frank J. and Lucy J. (Walker) Conway on Thursday February 23, 1933 in Westport, Dane County Wisconsin. My research found no information on Joe's childhood or elementary school. Joe played basketball and baseball during his years in High School. Joe graduated from Madison Central High in 1952. Joe enlisted in the US Army for two years from 1953 to 1955, he reached the rate of Corporal. Joe served a tour of duty in Korea as a military policeman. Joe was employed by Vogel Brothers Construction and was a member of laborer local 464. During that same time Joe was employed with his father and brothers placing Edgewater Hotel piers in and out of the water which is on one of the Madison's Lakes. In 1958 Joe was employed by the Madison Fire Department and served for thirty two years until he retired in 1989 at the rank of Lieutenant. Joe was an active member of the FireFighters Local 311 holding many positions before being elected President in 1979. Joe was an advocate for improving the safety and working conditions of his members during those ten years. In the mid-sixties Joe created his own "Conway Concrete" business. Joe employed his children and his fellow firefighters. Joe coached his Conway Concrete teams to multiple championships due to his love for sports. Joe continued to do concrete finishing work well into his eighties, he had a few projects lined up at the time of his death. Joe was united in marriage to his wife Bobbi in 1982. In 1983 Joe inherited "Walker" tavern from his uncle Frit. Joe and his wife Bobbi took over the operation four years later and renamed the business to "Joe Fire Station". They were still operating the tavern at the time of Joe's passing. Joe and Bobbi would open their home up on Christmas Eve to their extended tavern family. Christmas was special to Joe, he never wanted a child to go without a present on Christmas morning. Joe was a proud veteran, a member of the VFW, and the American Legion Post 534. Joe was also a member of the Monona Grove Businessmen's Association. Joe was an avid reader, he enjoyed keeping up with the news and politics. Joe was good at fixing up projects around his home and tavern, he enjoyed running his Bobcat on construction projects too. Joe enjoyed time at the family "Dells" cabin and stopping occasionally at a casino or two. Joe and I shared the title of grandpa with two of our grandsons. Joe sadly passed during esophagus surgery in an Austin, Travis County Texas hospital on Thursday April 5, 2018 at the age of 85 years, 1 month, 13 days which does not include his last days, he lived a total of 31,087 days. Joe's visitation was held on Monday April 16, 2018 from 3p to 7p at Ryan Funeral Home. Visitation continued one hour prior to his Mass of Christian Burial at St. Bernard Catholic Church of Madison on Tuesday April 17, 2018 at 10a. Joe was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery of Madison, Dane County Wisconsin in section 41 row 1. Joe's information was provided from researching many resources and my memory. This biography was created as an honor to Joe by a friend Loren R. I believe all lives matter, even the lives of those who have passed. Many details are still missing from his life, if you have any more details I will be happy to edit the additional information into this biography. Please send your info to me at my email address [email protected]

Credits: Ryan Funeral Home, familysearch.org (G37T-851), timeanddate.com
Revised 04/05/2021