James Francis Conway Sr.

Family-Placed Funeral Notice

JAMES FRANCIS CONWAY, Sr. Co-founder of Mister Softee Inc. died on May 28, 2006 at the age of 79, in the arms of his loving wife of 56 years, surrounded by his devoted family. After graduating from South East Catholic High School, Mr. Conway attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in the Class of 1949. While there he was a four year football letterman and was proud to have been one of the original “Munger” men, in honor of legendary Penn coach, George Munger. Following graduation, he was called to serve his country joining the U.S. Navy in Philadelphia. In 1950, he married the love of his life, Grace Roseman, and moved to Lafayette Hills, Pennsylvania. For the next few years he was sales manager for the Monroe Calculator Company. In 1956 he and his brother William founded Mister Softee Inc., the first mobile ice cream franchise in the country. They launched this venture on March 17, driving the first truck throughout South Philadelphia, giving away free green ice cream in honor of St. Patrick's Day. From a single truck they expanded operations from New England to Virginia, becoming a fixture and icon for our families throughout the region. Over the course of the next fifty years, they expanded the company throughout the United States and internationally, through a unique franchise concept. The Mister Softee logo and distinctive “jingle” are treasured and cherished by children of all ages. Through the years, the Mister Softee image has appeared in numerous television shows, commercials and motion pictures, including Hawaii Five-O, After Hours, Awakenings, and Mister 3000. He had numerous other business ventures, including commercial real estate, restaurants, as well as serving on the Board of Directors for Medquist Inc. and Peoples Bank. In spite of the extraordinary success of his many business investments, he remained a humble man, devoted to his family and faith. In fact, when asked by anyone, including his children, what he did, his stock answer was, “I sell ice cream for a living”. Mr. Conway was known for his generosity as a major benefactor to the Church, Catholic Charities, Salvation Army, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and the Athletic Department of the University of Pennsylvania. Jim was a long time resident of Haddonfield NJ, summering in Ocean City NJ. After a five decade career running Mister Softee, Jim and Grace retired to Stuart Florida, residing at Willoughby Country Club, for the winters. He had a life long passion for golf, playing courses around the world with his beloved wife, Grace. He was the past President of Tavistock Country Club, in Tavistock NJ, as well as the founder of the Bohemian Knights golf group at Atlantic City Country Club. Mr. Conway is survived by his wife Grace of Haddonfield, NJ, three children, James Jr. of Medford, NJ, Barbara of Haddonfield, NJ and Cricket of Mountain Lakes, NJ and nine grand children. A memorial mass will be held on Friday at Christ the King Roman Catholic Church, Haddonfield, NJ at 12 Noon. The family will receive friends from 10-11:45 AM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, care of A.J. DiMarino, MD. 132 South 10th St, Suite 480 Main Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Arrangements by Kain-Murphy Funeral Services, Haddonfield, NJ. To express condolences and/or make donations Visit PalmBeachPost.com/obituaries