Richard "Dick" Conroy

1920 - 2010

Richard "Dick" Conroy, 89, of Walker Lake, Nevada, died July 14, 2010 in Sparks, Nevada from natural causes. Dick was born in New York, NY in 1920, raised until the age of 12 in France and Switzerland where he was fluent in French. He returned to the U.S. to live in Palos Verdes Estates with his father, actor Frank Conroy, attending Malaga Cove school and learning English. They resided among other residences in P.V.E., in the beautiful La Venta Inn, where he grew up swimming and surfing and riding his Harley to high school. It was a very carefree life style for the 1930's. Conroy enlisted in the United States Coast Guard during WWII, and because he was a strong swimmer, was put through an early "seal" training program for underwater demolition. During his service, he met and married his first wife, Carmen "Kay" Kuster, they had three children. Upon his honorable discharge from the Coast Guard, Conroy joined the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department where he promoted through the ranks and eventually attained the rank of Chief of Police. He retired in 1972 only to take the position of Marshall in the tiny Nevada town of Gabbs where he lived with his second wife, Virginia "Ginny" Conroy until moving to Hawthorne, Nevada where he was for many years the range master at the Army Ammunitions Depot. He loved exploring the backroads of rural Nevada and was always prepared for any emergency with sleeping bags, gasoline and guns. Dick also loved riding his motorcycle, had several friends from the area who went on long road trips together all over the country. Three times Conroy earned the "Iron Butt" distinction by riding 1000 miles in 24 hours in his 60's! In 1987 while riding his Honda Gold Wing in Arizona, he was involved in a serious accident with a pick up truck effectively ending his riding days. He still loved to travel however, so he and Ginny traveled the country together in a new motorhome. Sadly Ginny passed away a couple of years later, and that is when Conroy moved to his last residence in Walker Lake where he lived for 20 years. Dick enjoyed a close relationship with companion Alyce Reece, a friend for decades who also loved motorhome travel and hanging out with old friends. They were virtually inseparable and cared deeply for each other until she passed away in early 2009. Anyone who knew Dick Conroy, knew that he was quite a character with a great sense of humor, a real gentleman with a generous spirit. Although in constant pain from his many serious injuries, he never complained, rather loved telling jokes, holding court with family and friends and enjoying a cocktail or two, remembering the good old days. He was an intensely patriotic Republican and often said he wanted to live long enough to see the current president voted out of office. He was always up to date on current events, even emailed a letter to the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News that was read on the air. Conroy was a lifetime Shriner, Mason, Elk, and NRA member. Dick Conroy is survived by his daughter, Cathryn Kotler; and son-in-law, Gary Kotler of Smith Valley, NV; son, Steven Conroy; and daughter-in-law, Dayna Conroy of San Luis Obispo, CA; step-daughters, Bonnie Glade of Olathe, KS, and Kimberly Brown of Umitilla, FL; 10 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by daughter, Deborah Kay Conroy of Torrance, CA. He leaves family and friends who loved him dearly and miss him like crazy. Please sign the guest book at www.dailybreeze.com/obits.