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Paul Beecher Conley '39

Mar. 28, 1917-May. 24, 2006

Paul Beecher Conley ’39, a retired farmer and rural mail carrier who once ran for the presidency of the United States, was born on March 28, 1917, in Jamaica, Queens, NY. The second son of Walter J., an electrical engineer, and Zena Sikes Conley, he grew up in Cranford, NJ, and was graduated in 1935 from Cranford High School. That year he entered Hamilton and covered part of his expenses as a chapel bell ringer, but left the Hill after two years.

Paul Conley held a series of jobs, including clerk, chemical salesman, and junior executive, until 1941, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Initially assigned to the original unit of the Airborne Infantry at Ft. Benning, GA, he was commissioned as an officer in 1942. With the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, he landed on the beaches of Normandy on the third day of the Allied invasion in June 1944. He was subsequently in charge of the first unit to pierce the German lines through the hedgerows west of St. Lo, which helped clear the path for the final Allied push to Paris. Twice wounded, once severely, by shrapnel, and awarded the Purple Heart, Lt. Conley spent a year convalescing in a hospital in England. He was released from military service in 1946, after World War II’s end.

Paul Conley soon took up residence on a farm he had purchased in Schenevus, NY, northeast of Oneonta. On June 25, 1949, he was married to (Alma) Irene Kinney. They reared seven children on the farm, where Paul, despite an inability to do heavy work because of his wartime injuries, raised beef cattle. In addition, he obtained appointment as a rural mail carrier, a position he would hold for almost 20 years until his retirement in 1973.

In the meantime, Paul Conley, a staunch conservative, had developed a lively interest in politics. He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in the Republican primary in 1958. Thirty years later, he gained a modicum of nationwide attention at the age of 70 by offering his candidacy in the Republican presidential primaries in New Hampshire and West Virginia. He was out to prove that “average people should be able to run.” Despite a miniscule budget for his campaign, he managed to travel to New Hampshire, but did not have enough money for a West Virginia trip. In the New Hampshire primary, which was won by the first President Bush, Paul Conley garnered 102 votes, somewhat more than was expected.

Paul B. Conley, a faithful alumnus, died on May 24, 2006, at his home in Schenevus, of kidney failure. He is survived by his wife of 56 years. Also surviving are two daughters, Charlene Perron and Paula May; five sons, Davis B., Gavin S., Blair J., Todd S., and Lansen P. Conley; and numerous grandchildren and a brother. Another brother, Meredith S. Conley ’36, father of David H. Conley ‘62, predeceased him in 1981.

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Note: Memorial biographies published prior to 2004 will not appear on this list.



Necrology Writer and Contact:
Christopher Wilkinson '68
Email: Chris.Wilkinson@mail.wvu.edu

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