John Conyne

John W. Conyne, 76, Bismarck, died September 21, 2006. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 PM Tuesday at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit with Rev. Thomas Kramer officiating. Visitation will be held from 1:00 to 9:00 PM Sunday and 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Monday at Eastgate Funeral Service and continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. John W. Conyne was born on May 7, 1930, in Bismarck, the son of Burt and Gertrude Dunn Conyne. He spent his early years in Center, ND, until the age of 9 when his family moved to Bismarck. John was active in school and attended college at both St. John's University in Collegeville, MN, and the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND, before enlisting in the US Army in 1950. John was sent to Korea where he received a battlefield commission and went on to serve as a Forward Observer and Executive Officer for an artillery battery. John returned to the United States to finish his tour of service at Ft. Sill, OK. John returned to North Dakota in 1955, where he started working at the ND Highway Department in May 1957 as a Highway and Safety Engineer until his retirement in April 1996. During his career, John was awarded the NDDOT Community Service Award. John married Carolee Gonser on January 3, 1959 together they had their two children, Steven and Mary. John was well known for his active service life in the Bismarck community, especially as a member of the American Legion, where he served as Post commander for Bismarck's Lloyd Spetz Post #1 and Drum Major for the Bismarck "Governaires," the Drum and Bugle Corps sponsored by the post. John was perhaps best known for his decades of work with the Open Your Heart program. John received the ND Heritage Award in 1984 and was inducted into the ND American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame. John is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Steven and Brenda Conyne and his granddaughters, Siobhan and Anneke of Albuquerque, NM; his daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Aaron Sebastian of Bismarck, ND; his brother and sister-in-law, Bruce and Jeanne Conyne of San Diego, CA; and his sister and brother-in-law, Sharon and Larry Exel of Mound, MN. John is preceded in death by his wife, Carolee in 2002. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him.

John Conyne

May 7, 1930 - September 21, 2006