Franklyn F. "Jeff" Conley 1924-2012

CONLEY

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 7/24/2012 at 14:03:55

Sioux City Journal
January 18, 2012

Franklyn F. "Jeff" Conley, formerly of Sioux City, died Jan. 16, 2012 at Circle of Life Legacy Village in Bentonville, Ark.

Memorial services will be 9 a.m. Friday, with a rosary at 8:30 a.m., at St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Bella Vista, Ark. Burial will follow in National Cemetery, Fayetteville, Ark. A reception will follow at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of Callison-Lough Funeral Home in Bentonville. Online memorials can be made at www.callisonlough.com.

He was born April 3, 1924, in Canton, Ohio, to Howard R. and Sophia Conley. He attended Catholic school in Canton. In 1939, the family moved to Franklin, Tenn., where he graduated from Franklin High School.

In 1943, he went into the service with the U.S. Navy, where he became a signalman on the USS John C. Butler, a destroyer escort, as a plank owner in Orange, Texas. They sailed to Boston, Mass., and returned through the Panama Canal to the South Pacific in support of World War II. He took part in battles in Palau, Leyte Gulf, Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. He was honorably discharged following the war in March 1946. His dedication to the United States during the many battles in the South Pacific will be forever honored, particularly for the many lives he saved during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. As a rescue swimmer for the USS John C. Butler, he bravely rescued many victims of the kamikaze attack and subsequent sinking of the USS St. Lo escort carrier.

On Sept. 14, 1946, he married his wife, Lorraine, at St. Helen's Catholic Church in Los Angeles, Calif.

He attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and Jamestown College in Jamestown, N.D., majoring in education and coaching. In 1950, he attended the Boy Scout Training School in Mendham, N.J., and began his professional career with the Boy Scouts of America, where he was a Scoutmaster and ran the waterfront at Scout camps. He subsequently became a district executive with the Boy Scouts, where he served for five years in Owatonna, Minn.

In 1955, he changed professions, becoming a salesman for the Minnesota Life Insurance Company. He continued with Minnesota Life Insurance Company in Owatonna for seven years before becoming a general agent for their newly formed agency in Sioux City. Following 23 years as the general agent, he retired in 1986. While in Sioux City, he was a member of the Rotary Club, including being a Paul Harris Fellow, and served as the vice commodore for the annual Sioux City River-Cade. During this time, he maintained his relationship with the Boys Scouts of America as a volunteer.

In 1988, he and Lorraine retired and moved to Bella Vista, Ark., where they became very active in the community. After joining St. Bernard's Catholic Church, he served as secretary/treasurer for the Men's Club. He was also a member of the Bella Vista Fly Tyers Club, the Knights of Columbus, the American Legion and life member of the VFW Robert M. Sterrett Post.

His devotion to his faith provided strength and comfort in his final days. He will be remembered as a loyal son and brother, a dedicated and committed father, a compassionate and supportive grandfather and great-grandfather, but mostly as an ever faithful and loving husband.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Lorraine; brother, Roy Conley and his wife, LuAnn; daughter, Barbara and her husband, Robert Wakelee; son, David and his wife, Kathleen; son, Patrick and his wife, Lisa; grandsons, Thomas Kafka, Christopher Scott, Cody and Quinn Conley, Jeremy, John and Jerry Miller; granddaughter, Jessica Carpenter; and seven great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Patricia Mary Conley; and his sister, Joanna Gentzel.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Bella Vista Public Library, 11 Dickens Place, Bella Vista, AR 72714 or St. Bernard's Catholic Church, 1 Saint Bernard Lane, Bella Vista, AR 72715.