Ralph E. Conway

July 20, 1938 - June 26, 2025

Ralph, 86, most recently lived in Grayslake, Illinois, however was raised in northern Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan. He also lived a few of his teen years in Weippe, Idaho. He proudly served for his country in the US Army for 11 years and completed tours of duty in Vietnam and Panama. Ralph also served as a police officer for two years in Wakefield, Michigan. Upon his Honorable Discharge from military service, he worked as a machine operator for Johnson Outboard Marine Corp. while living in Waukegan. Immediately before retiring he worked for Century Automatic Sprinkler company in Waukegan and Gurnee.

Ralph thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman. He also loved going camping with his family. He volunteered his time as an assistant baseball coach for his son’s youth baseball team and served as Cub Master for the local scouts in Waukegan. Growing up in Northern Wisconsin and the U.P., Ralph was a devoted Green Bay Packer fan. Before moving to Grayslake, he lived in Niles, Michigan, and relished spending time with his loyal dog, Max.

Ralph is survived by his sons, Tom Conway (Guy Dansereau); Mike (Lori) Conway; granddaughters, Faith and Carter; sister-in-law, June (John) Trentacosti; very dear friend, Lona Smith, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Auberdene Conway; parents, Joseph and Flora Conway; in-laws, August and Bertha Zitka; and all of his siblings, William “Bill” Conway, Irma G. “Dolly” Barron, Virginia Tuttle, Grace Negretti, Victor Conway, Marion Schmidlin, Jolene Olson, and Gerry Conway.

A visitation will be held for Ralph on Monday July 7, 2025, at 10:30 am and a service to follow at 11:30 am at Marsh Funeral Home at 305 N. Cemetery Road, Gurnee, IL 60031. A military graveside service will follow the funeral service at Highland Memorial Park, 33100 N. Hunt Club Road, Libertyville, IL 60048. The service for Ralph can be viewed live at www.asimplestreaming.com/reconway

In lieu of flowers, contributions to honor Ralph may be made to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund https://www.vvmf.org/Support-VVMF/