Raymond Clifford Conrad Jr.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, August 28 at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish starting at 11am, Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 12pm, luncheon will start at 1pm and inurnment with military honors at White Chapel Cemetery at 2pm.

Ray was born October 24, 1939 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He and his family moved to Springfield, Missouri in 1943 where Ray was a member of the first graduating class of Parkview High School in 1957. After high school Ray joined the United States Marine Corp and after his term received an honorable discharge. Ray then attended the University of Missouri- Columbia before moving on to University of Missouri Law School where he earned his law degree in 1968. Throughout his college education, he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and also a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.

After college, Ray started work with the Missouri State Highway Commission in Jefferson City, Missouri for a number of years and then went on to be an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Missouri from 1973 to 1980. In 1980 Ray became the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Missouri where he served for 40 years before retiring in 2013. In 1980 Ray was temporarily appointed by President Jimmy Carter to be the Federal Public Defender of the Western District of Arkansas to represent Cuban refugees relocated from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. In the mid 1990s President William J. Clinton appointed him to the Gender Fairness Committee. Ray was a member of the Missouri Bar Association, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and the Greene County Bar Association. During his career he was a member of various law committees as well as participating in different lectures. At the beginning of his career as a Federal Public Defender in Springfield, Missouri he won a case presented to the United States Supreme Court regarding Native American religious practices.

Ray enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. He especially enjoyed many hobbies including golfing, competition shooting, competition archery, horseback riding. Some of the most rewarding times he had was spent bonding and teaching his grandchildren to hunt, fish, swim, and taking them on many hunting trips. He was a very hands on "Po", as this is what his grandchildren called him. He always attended their activities and supported them. Ray was also an active member of the Boy Scouts of America and enjoyed all of the activities with his grandsons. He loved all six of his grandchildren and his two great grandchildren and taught them many honorable ways to grow up to be admirable adults. Ray will always be remembered as a compassionate, giving, loving man who will serve as a great role model for the family.

On February 4, 1961, Ray married the love of his life Joed Elaine Conrad enjoying 60 wonderful years together. She is surviving him, along with two daughters Melanie Kay Conrad and Mary Katherine Conrad. He is also survived by six grandchildren: Melanie's children Jake Haskins, Lilli Haskins, and Elijah Haskins; and Katherine's children Brenden Conrad Sr. (Madison Tannehill), Seth O'Dell, and Abigail O'Dell and her grandchildren Cali Brown (Conrad) and Brenden Conrad Jr. Ray is also survived by his sister Kay Oldham (Terry), his nephew Conrad Carpenter and nieces Sarah Carpenter and Amanda Durkin. He is also survived by many extended family and friends.

Ray was preceded in death by his parents Dr. Raymond Clifford Conrad Sr. and Willie Orlean Conrad (Colson), and his nephew Christopher Carpenter.