John Conroy is the proud heir to a four-generation business with a legacy of providing an essential service in our area.
Losing a loved one is never easy and John shares how his family has been there to help us by providing funeral services that best meet our needs with the greatest compassion and dignity.
He also shares stories that convey his great love for his family and his community. He’s been a witness to a great many changes and is excited about the current trajectory. “Biddeford, after a long time, has lost it’s never deserved inferiority complex.
It’s time that people can come to appreciate Biddeford for not only its history, its past, but also its present and its future”
John Conroy
INTERVIEW DETAILS
Date of Interview: June 23, 2021
Location: Hope Memorial Chapel, Biddeford Maine
Interviewer: Nicole Morin-Scribner
Transcriber: Nicole Morin-Scribner
SELECTED INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
• Paternal grandparent’s journey from Ireland to Portland
• How his maternal great-grandparents started a store selling furniture, stoves and caskets which grew into a funeral home business spanning four generations and numerous locations
• Conroy family contributions during World War II
• Growing up in a three generational home that was also a funeral parlor
• Memories of attending the English St. Mary’s Elementary School; getting pressure not to attend the French St. Louis High School
• John’s career path from a laboratory technician back to the family business
• The rewards and challenges of this line of work
• Converting a popular bowling alley into a location designed to meet today’s funeral service needs.
• Perspective on major events: 1947 fire; mill, St. Mary’s Church and St. Louis High School closures; 9-11; AIDs epidemic; COVID pandemic
• Changes in funeral traditions and operations from the late 1800’s to current day.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Birthplace: Portland, Maine
Education: St. Louis High, Biddeford
College of the Holy Cross, Worcester Massachusetts
Bachelors in Biology
New England Institute of Mortuary Science, Boston Massachusetts
Ethnic Identification: Irish and French Canadian