Margaret Conway

MARGARET L. CONWAY-88, died peacefully at Founders Pavilion in Corning on January 16, 2012. Mrs. Conway was born on April 19, 1923, in Middle Village, Queens, New York, as Margaret Lillian Cosenza. She attended elementary school in Middle Village. After moving with her family to Garden City, she attended and graduated from Sewanhaka High School (Class of 1935). In December of 1941, shortly after the United States entered World War II following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Mrs. Conway moved to Washington, D.C., to perform administrative support for the United States Navy. She returned to New York in the spring of 1942 to work for the Air Defense Command at Mitchel Field in Garden City, where she was employed throughout the war years. In 1948, she married Thomas F. Conway, and began raising a family after the birth of their first child in 1950. The Conways owned a hardware store in Garden City from 1959 to 1968, and in 1966 they opened Admiral Travel Agency, which they operated until 1978. Starting that same year, Mrs. Conway began to manage the American Express Travel Agency in Garden City. During this time, she served as president of the Garden City Chamber of Commerce, was a member of the board of directors of the Guide Dog Foundation, and was an active member of several professional organizations, including Soroptimist International and the Long Island Center for Business and Professional Women. As part of her job, Mrs. Conway traveled extensively throughout the world, flying on the Concorde to Europe and visiting Japan, Taiwan, Panama, and numerous destinations in the United States. In 1983 she was promoted to the position of Director of Executive Travel Management Services, working in the American Express Headquarters in Manhattan until her retirement in 1991. During her tenure at American Express, she was inducted into the Travel Hall of Fame. The Conways moved to Watkins Glen, New York in 1991 and opened the Seneca Lake Watch Bed and Breakfast. Mrs. Conway became active in the Watkins Glen Chamber of Commerce, the Finger Lakes Bed and Breakfast Association, and the League of Women Voters. Following the death of her husband in 1996, Mrs. Conway continued to operate Seneca Lake Watch by herself, welcoming countless visitors to the Finger Lakes region that she had come to love. She retired in 2000, and moved to Corning in 2005. In addition to being predeceased by her husband, Thomas F. Conway, in 1996, Mrs. Conway is survived by four children and ten grandchildren: Mary Plank of Charlottesville, Virginia, her husband Douglas, and their children Alexander, Nicholas, and Marissa; Thomas Conway, of Bedford, New York, and his children Christian, Thomas, Michelle, and Matthew; Michael Conway, of Massapequa, New York, his wife Maira, and their daughter Michaela; and George Conway, of Corning, New York, his wife Julie, and their children David and Benjamin. A viewing will be held at the Royce-Chedzoy Funeral Home, 212 E. 4th St., in Watkins Glen on Friday, January 20, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Funeral Services will be held at the funeral home on Saturday, January 21, at 10:00 a.m., with interment following the service at Holy Cross Cemetery in Watkins Glen. A “Candle of Remebrance” may be left for the family at www.Royce-Chedzoy.com.