Jerry Bruce Conway

Jerry was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Feb. 17, 1954, to the late Annabelle Ruth Hoffman Conway of Williamsburg, Ohio, and Thomas Winnroyd Conway of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was the youngest of their three sons, Michael Thomas Conway, Stephen Paul Conway and Jerry.

Jerry graduated from Elmhurst High School in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, in 1972 with high honors. He was a member of the National Honor Society, served as editor of the school newspaper and participated in the student council and the ski club.

In 1976, Jerry graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Hospitality Business, receiving high honors. He was subsequently elected to membership in Beta Gamma Sigma, the prestigious national scholastic honorary society representing the pinnacle of academic achievement for students in business or management programs.

Shortly after graduating college, Jerry opened The Epicurean Creperie, a beloved French restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, known for its delicious sweet and savory crepes during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He also, alongside his mother, Annabelle, helped run and manage a local health food store that was considered very up-and-coming for its time. After several successful years as a restaurant owner, Jerry continued his career in the hospitality industry, going to work for JW Marriott Hotels in Oklahoma and Florida.

While still working for Marriott in 1986, Jerry and his brother Steve purchased five Jiffy Lube store locations in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina where Jerry assumed the title of Chief Operations Officer. After realizing the enormous potential of this new-found business, Jerry left Marriott to pursue the growth of the Jiffy Lube franchise. However, his entrepreneurial spirit didn’t conclude with Jiffy Lube as he was still owner-operator of a Budgetel Hotel in Ocala, Florida, and would go back to his hospitality roots by opening The Seventh Fork Arena restaurant in Raleigh, NC, in 1993.

Following the success of the initial five Jiffy Lube locations, their holding company, CFA Management, continued to grow and expand into cities across the United States. In 2000, the company was issued the service mark under the name “Lucor,” and Jerry became President and Chief Operating Officer of the new holding company and all its subsidiaries.

Lucor eventually grew to 225 stores across the country, with more than 1,900 employees, operating in the greater metropolitan areas of Raleigh-Durham and Greensboro-Winston Salem, NC; Cincinnati-Dayton, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; Lansing, MI; Toledo, OH; Richmond-Tidewater, VA; Atlanta, GA; and Nashville, TN.

Over the years, Lucor achieved tremendous success, earning the Jiffy Lube Franchisee of the Year Award three times in 1989, 1995 and 2017. Along with the company’s success, Jerry also achieved many personal accolades as he served as President of the Jiffy Lube Franchisee Association (JLAF) and Chairman of JLAF’s national Marketing and Advertising Committees. Jerry earned numerous awards for his involvement and influence within the Jiffy Lube community and worked closely with the many different presidents of Jiffy Lube International (JLI) and key individuals of JLI’s parent company, Shell.

In December of 2022, Lucor sold all its subsidiaries to Premium Velocity Automotive bringing Jerry’s remarkable career in the Jiffy Lube business to a close.

A lifelong sports fan, Jerry adopted North Carolina State University as his home team and was a devoted member of the NC State Wolfpack Club. Throughout his Jiffy Lube career, Carolina Lubes Inc. (a subsidiary of Lucor) would sponsor NC State athletics and receive season tickets for all Wolfpack football and basketball games. Jerry would remain a Wolfpack football season ticket holder long after contractual sponsorship obligations were concluded.

Jerry was also a Carolina Hurricanes season ticket holder for many years and witnessed all three Cup runs of 2002, 2006 and this year’s 2026 championship.

Throughout Jerry’s life, he would pursue many philanthropic endeavors to benefit causes that were near to his heart; He was especially fond of animals, particularly dogs. Jerry was a longtime supporter of the SPCA of Wake County, and in his brief retirement, served on the Board of Directors.

Although Jerry never had children of his own, his life was filled with family and relationships he deeply treasured. He loved his nieces and nephews as his own and embraced their children as his grandchildren, never missing a birthday or Christmas and always offering guidance, encouragement, and unconditional love. Jerry also found family in the friendships he formed throughout his life. Through business, he met David Barnett and Mike Davis, who became trusted business partners and close friends, both instrumental to Lucor’s success. Over the years, those relationships grew far beyond business. Dave, his wife, Christy, and their son, Chance, became family to Jerry; he was Chance’s godfather and loved him like a grandson. Mike and his family held an equally special place in Jerry’s life. Jerry found tremendous happiness in the people he loved, deeply treasuring both the family he was born into and the family he found along the way.

Jerry is survived by his brother, Stephen Paul Conway; his niece, Jessica Dinwiddie, her husband, Peter, and their children, Houston, Michael, Lou, and Ruthie; his niece, Britt Douglas, her husband, Andrel, and their children Andrew and Derek; his nephew, Christopher Conway, his wife, Rachel, and their children Nathan, Kyla, and Lilly; his nephew, Colin Conway and his children, Lucia, Milana, and Andrew; his niece, Dani Conway, her fiancé, Kemp Membane, and their daughter Chloe; and many extended family members and dear friends.

Jerry is preceded in death by his parents, Annabelle Ruth Hoffman Conway and Thomas Winnroyd Conway, and his brother, Michael Thomas Conway.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the SPCA of Wake County in Jerry’s honor. Information on how to make a memorial donation is listed below under "donations".

A celebration of Jerry’s life will be held at a later date.