Eugenia Robertson Conway Ahart (b 3/24/1921), at 90, died in Chapel Hill, NC on July 4, 2011, Independence Day-a day celebrating freedom. Home bound for 3 years, she died at home one week after a fall. Blessed that she moved from her beautiful Dallas home to Chapel Hill in 1999, her daughter Eugenia Cecelia Conway & grandson Tom Ashley Thompson were with her. Eugenia remained luminous, loving, and inspiring to the end. Born in Dallas, she was the daughter of Ruth Lovett Robertson Davis, who became a lawyer in 1933. Eugenia was raised in Texarkana, Texas at the home of her grandparent Lovetts. Eugenia's mother worked as a legal secretary in Dallas for thirty years for the Sun Oil Company. Eugenia graduated from Highland Park High School. At the Highland Park Cafeteria, one elderly couple told her, "You are a lovely young lady and someday will be as beautiful as your mother!" Eugenia attended two years at SMU, where she was quick in math, a popular Delta Gamma & majored especially in bridge and Script and Score. The Dallas Morning News recorded the day in the drug store when she bid 13 spades, was doubled and redoubled and won her bid! Eugenia was a fabulous dancer-especially of the jitterbug and her mother's Charleston & won her daughter a live giant white Easter rabbit. Eugenia's 1st husband George T Conway of Texarkana, Ark was killed in WWII, Mar 22, 1945, as the pilot of his bomber plane, so all of his crew could parachute to safety & come home. He received the Purple Heart & Soldier's Medal of Distinction. Eugenia & her daughter lived with Ruth at the Melrose Hotel, & they sent Cecelia to Hockaday. Eugenia-a perfectionist homemaker-worked regular extra for Neiman Marcus. In 1965, Neiman's asked her to manage the new Greenhouse Spa Boutique that was about to open, but her arthritis was already too severe & she retired. In 1959, after Eugenia married Robert B Ahart, of Ahart's Tool & Design, they moved to 3049 Wildflower Drive & she remained there until after Bob died in 1996. After Eugenia moved to NC in 1999, she became beloved of her daughter's friends, who shared dinners & then happy hours together. Tom & his wife Wendy Hastings Thompson & her extended family brought their black puppy Dexter on July 3 to be a place marker for the someday grandchild in 4 generation photos with Eugenia. Husband George T Conway & his family, her mother, Ruth's beloved twin Aunt Dolly Brown & many Lovetts, & the devoted husband Robert B. Ahart predeceased Eugenia. She leaves behind her daughter, grandson TA & his wife & half-sister, & many nieces & nephews, including Virginia Ann Booker Wilhelm of Little Rock, Karol Morris Laden of Colorado, Pam (and Ken) Griffin of Dallas, & the Lovett cousins Elizabeth & Ferriba. The viewing & wake & memorial took place at Eugenia's townhouse last summer. Family & friends will decorate Bob's grave with flowers & remember Eugenia in Hillcrest Cemetery Friday, May 4, at 3:30 pm: 919 623 3372. Donations to Cornucopia Cancer Support or Hospice are welcome. Eugenia was unforgettable & her vivacious love illuminated her life. In mid-May, Eugenia's ashes will be sprinkled in the Gulf of Mexico at the Conway/Wright family reunion.
Published in Dallas Morning News on April 29, 2012