Richard Conaway

Richard Edwin “Dick” Conaway, (Col. USAF, Ret.) On the morning of 6 April, 2022, Dick passed away peacefully at home of natural causes. He was 91 years old. Dick was born in Mannington, WV, the youngest of four children, son of Arlie and Beulah. Dick grew up in a small town where his family owned the local hardware store just half a mile down Buffalo Creek from their house. Dick worked in the store from a young age, and likely developed his story-telling skills with the townsfolk as they shopped for everything from nails to jigsaw puzzles. Dick attended the same schoolhouse from first grade through high school, and when they weren’t working, he and his older brothers hunted and fished and explored the wild countryside in training for their lifelong love for the outdoors. Dick received his BS in Economics from West Virginia Wesleyan College, and it was there that he met Jean Talbott. They married and Dick became an officer in the U.S. Air Force, whereupon they embarked on 35 years of relocations with a growing family until Jean’s untimely death at age 54. Dick’s Air Force advancement was “ahead of the curve” from his early career on, from a base commander in the shadow of Mt. Fujiyama to the top levels of personnel policy for the Air Force at The Pentagon, where he was so good they brought him back for another tour. While in Germany, Dick’s love and expertise for hunting and fishing landed him the lead instructor’s position for US servicemen who were willing to pass a rigorous course in order to hunt on German hunting preserves. Stateside, Dick created, and for over twenty years led, the Potomac Personnel Institute, a group of personnel professionals who met regularly for informative programs and social networking. Dick’s second marriage to Anne Coates-Radloff, an associate professor at a local university, lasted another 35 years and added two stepchildren to the family. They settled inside the beltway with Holmes Run and gorgeous woodlands snuggled up to their backyard. The Air Force is a small community (according to Dick, “the Earth is only 8,000 miles thick”), so you’re bound to keep running into people you know. Dick was the glue that kept many of his Air Force companions in touch and up to date, and since he outlived most of his contemporaries, he spent a lot of time traveling to funerals in support of his pals and their loved ones. He was regularly on the phone with family of the departed, helping them to feel connected long after their loved ones had died. Dick was a member of Kena Masonic Lodge, and he wore his father’s Masonic ring with great pride. Dick is preceded in death by Jean Talbott Conaway (wife), brothers Don and Robert Conaway, and sister Helen Palmer. Dick is survived by Anne Coates Conaway (wife), son Mark (wife, Dyan), daughter Garnett (husband Richard Elliott), son Patrick (wife, Soonkyu), stepdaughter Laurie DuVall, stepson John Radloff (Sian), grandchildren Amelia Harriman (husband Jeremy), Kathryn Conaway, Maxwell Conaway, Austin Conaway, Tyler Conaway, Riley Conaway, Ian Hauver-Radloff, Jillian DuVall, great-grandchildren Knox and Luna Harriman.