FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA - Gene L. Conway of Fountain Hills, Arizona passed away August 26, 2010.  Born to Ralph and Helen Conway July 9, 1944 in Holton, Kansas, he was raised in the Highland Park neighborhood of Topeka.  In 1969, while on a chance trip to Chicago, he unexpectedly met the love of his life, Jer'i LaNoue.  They were married in September 1972 and lived variously in Colorado, San Francisco, and Seattle where their daughter, Lauren, was born in 1986, then back to Colorado, before finally settling near Jer'i's family in Arizona.  Wherever they were, Gene and Jer'i cultivated many friends and enjoyed a full, wonderful life, especially the shared experience of raising their daughter.  Along the way he put his hand to many lines of work, none better than as an independent builder of homes in the mountains.  He leaves some fine, lasting marks.

Gene was a gifted athlete, a man of courage, and possessed of a strong inquisitive mind with broad interests in history, the sciences, the English language, especially poetry, and sports.  His family and friends were pleasured by his sharing of these interests, but more importantly they benefitted from his always sound and honest advice.  He was wise, rich in his humor, and not lacking in occasional mischievousness.  He would not suffer a fool, but declined to speak ill of others.  He was the light of many gatherings, a prince in all his roles.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Jer'i and Lauren of the home, he is survived by his mother, Helen Conway of Topeka and his brother Dean Conway of Lakewood, Colorado.  He is dearly missed by all who knew him.  Home is the sailor, home from the sea; the hunter home from the hill.