Jack Conroy, Ph.D.

Born in Chicago in 1937, Jack attended Mount Carmel High School (’55) where he received a Fred B. Snite scholarship at any Catholic University. Jack chose the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated in 1959. Thereafter he received a Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship to study Philosophy at Fordham University, collecting both an MA and the love of his life, Joan. After a short experience in teaching at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY, he temporarily abandoned higher education when Jack’s Uncle Ed, owner of Marhoefer Construction, asked him to move to Naples in 1963 (population at the time of about 7,000) for a six-month stint to complete several jobs. Jack and Joan never left, and Naples became their home.

While at Marhoefer Construction, Jack constructed many local buildings, including the first major expansion of the Naples Community Hospital, the Edgewater Beach Hotel, the Cove Inn and St. Ann Church, where they have been parishioners since its completion.

In 1969, Jack turned his attention to real estate. His analytical mind attracted him to commercial real estate, and in 1976 he founded Investment Properties Corporation (IPC). His thirst for knowledge led him to become the first CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) in Naples and it rekindled his desire for teaching. Jack taught CCIM courses nationally for 25 years and many senior CCIMs in Naples have been in his classes. As a commercial Realtor, Jack developed many local projects including The Commons, Northgate Village, Patriot Square and Page Field Medical Village.

Throughout his professional life, Jack was fully invested in the Naples community. He was on the Board and President of many community associations including the Tri-County Builders Association (predecessor to today’s CBIA), the Naples Area Chamber of Commerce and the Naples Area Board of Realtors (NABOR). He spent over ten years as Chairman of the Collier County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, and was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Leadership Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2020, he was awarded the NABOR Commercial Realtor Achievement Award.

While teaching CCIM courses fulfilled his desire for analytical instruction, Jack loved teaching philosophy, and throughout his early years in Naples, he taught as an adjunct professor for both Edison Community College and Barry University.

Beginning in 1992 Jack and Joan spent summers at Notre Dame taking Master’s level courses in Theology, where he was offered a scholarship to attend the University full-time. This opportunity led him to retire at 65 years of age and return to his beloved University to secure a Ph.D. in Theology, which was awarded seven years later in 2008. After graduating, he taught theology and scripture for the Blessed Edmund Rice School and Barry University.

Through the years, Jack remained involved in St. Ann Church. He served as a lector, participated in the RCIA program, wrote weekly for the church bulletin and spoke regularly on Scripture. He was passionate about overcoming historical Christian Anti-Judaism and co-chaired the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue of Collier County for seven years. Jack wrote and published two novels about the life of Paul and the development of the Early Church: The Sign of the Cross and The First Thousand Years.

Above all, Jack is remembered as a man of great integrity, intellect, wisdom, and family devotion. His love for family is expressed in these lines from a poem he wrote many years ago:

It is impossible to become a self

Except with others,

Except with the personmaking role

Of the family.

Every time I think of how smart

God is,

I think of how he used the Family to

create his world.

Jack passed from this world surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife, Joan, his son Tom Conroy (Kim), his daughter MaryZoe Bowden (Bill), and his daughter Kristin Conroy (Kevin). He was also blessed with twelve grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

A Vigil service will be held on Friday, September 23 at 4:00PM at Hodges Funeral Home, and a Mass celebrating his life will be at St. Ann Church on Saturday, September 24 at 1:00PM. In lieu of flowers, a donation in his name can be made to Providence House in Naples, Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, Avow Hospice or a charity of your choice.