The UW Law School’s faculty and alumni were saddened to learn recently of the death of Emeritus Professor John E. Conway, a graduate of the Law School’s Class of 1935, who taught at the Law School from 1953 to 1979.

Conway, described by a colleague as "one of the movers and shakers on the faculty," was a longtime professor of Civil Procedure. He was noted for his extremely generous and courteous nature and high level of expectations for student achievement. The "military bearing" that one former student recalls may have been a result of Conway’s service in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.

After the War, Conway became the Assistant Revisor and then Revisor of Statutes in Wisconsin before joining the faculty in 1953.

In 1973, Conway was appointed Jackson Professor of Law at the Law School, a chair he held until his retirement in 1979. In 1979 he was also honored with the Wisconsin Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award.

Conway’s first wife, Barbara, died in 1989; his son William Conway died in 2004. His survivors include his second wife, Audrey, and his son Professor John B. Conway, chair of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Oklahoma College of Public Health, who make be contacted by e-mail at  j.conway0347@sbcglobal.net. He also leaves two daughters-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

The late G. W. (Bill) Foster, Jr., a Law School colleague, summarized John Conway’s dedication to education when he said, "I place John on a list with few peers and second to none in practicing the belief that education is a life process, never to cease while life continues."

Submitted by on December 19, 2007

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