Dad’s birth certificate reads Shaniko, Oregon. He grew up on a cattle and sheep ranch. At first he attended a one-room schoolhouse in Bakeoven by way of horseback. Later he and his brothers attended St. Mary’s boarding school in The Dalles where he learned the value of leadership as class president. During the summers he went with his father and uncles into the meadows around Ollalie Lake by Mt. Hood. He learned to herd sheep and pack horses. He was also the camp cook, starting at the age of 12. He learned the lay of the mountains & valleys, and during his travels there, he developed a sense that one of the most important characteristics a man could have was to help a neighbor in need. He did that time and time again.

Dad was 19 years old when his father died of a heart attack. He then became the man of the family with two younger brothers at home.

He entered the army during WW2. One of his stories was about a training drill in which they were to make it out of the barracks and into formation as fast as they could. After a try or two that was too slow they were yelled at to get out there in 1 minute flat. One of the men in his haste, ran straight through a screen door and tore it off its hinges. The commanding officer was duly impressed. "Now that’s the way to run an operation! No screen door is going to keep us from getting the job done!" This must have made a big impression on dad. Getting the job done with precision became his motto. During WW2 dad was in the 10th Mountain Division. At first he packed mules, and later supplied food, gas, and necessities by truck to the front lines in Northern Italy.

When dad returned home from the war he attended Oregon State College. He completed two degrees, a Bachelor of Science in Food Technology, and a Masters in Agricultural Economics. In college he met and married Kathleen Lorang and his first daughter Marlene was born in Corvallis. After that he served 18 months during the Korean Conflict.

Upon returning to Oregon he started a business. With a week or two and 50 gallons of paint and sweat they transformed a dilapidated old Co-op building into a somewhat less old dilapidated Conroy Packing Company. Creating this new business demanded that they celebrate. So they popped open a bottle of champagne in the new office. The cork left a dent in the ceiling tile that stayed there for 30 years until a remodel.

Over the next few years with everyone’s help they gradually transformed that old facility into an impressive, State of the Art, successful operation. (It ran like clockwork!)

From this beginning, there was no looking back. He added coolers, and modern processing lines. With money at 21%, all of this upgrading took a lot of courage and faith. By now he had contracts with several major national food buyers and a wonderful relationship with a group of quality conscious growers.

Over the years his dedication to the processing industry did not go unnoticed. In 1968 he was elected president of the Northwest Canners and Freezers.

Dad was a leader in International food trade. He had customers in Europe and Australia. In the 80’s his focus on quality and precision brought some of the first Japanese customers to Oregon. They required berries to be twice as clean as U.S. standards, and brushed as well as washed. So dad bought extra washing and brushing machinery to accommodate this.

In 1990 dad sold Conroy Packing to Kerr Concentrates, IFF.

During the next10 years he spent even more time focusing on his contributions to the industry. In 1992 he was presented an award for the "Oregon Agricultural Businessman of the Year."

In 1999 the Raspberry Blackberry Commission gave him an award for his dedication. It was called the "Bob Conroy Award" and it was probably only fitting that he was the first annual recipient.

Last year he was awarded a "Lifetime Achievement" award by the OSU Agricultural Research Foundation

Through all these years my parents raised a family of 7 . All of us worked at Conroy Packing Company for some amount of time. Dad wasn’t easy to work for. He was very demanding. But through it all we had the opportunity to learn a work ethic centered on quality and dedication.

Dad’s only recreation was fishing. From about 1970 he logged well over 200 jet boat trips up the 13 miles of rapids above Maupin. He had a couple of harrowing trips in there. I remember one particular trip. Dawn was breaking and we came around a bend in the river. There was fly fisherman on the left shore. Trying not to disturb this guy, dad steered the old wood boat into the 3 foot standing waves in the center of the river. The boat rose up off the crest of a wave and crashed on the next. It broke in half right in the middle of the river. Dad managed to run the boat up on shore and everyone got safely on land. He didn’t get excited (as he was known to on occasion). He just stared at the sinking boat and said. "Hmm, I guess its time to get an aluminum boat".

But all these stories and qualities are familiar to most of you. What you may not know, but might suspect, is that dad was ALWAYS a Good Samaritan. All through his life he went out of his way to help where there was a need.

Bob Conroy: Shepherd,  Mule packer,  Soldier,  Scholar, Entrepreneur, Loving brother, Father and Husband.

Maryanne and I (Joe's daughter), finally graduated from the line to making boxes. When the freezer would shut down for awhile and the box chute was full, we would write limericks on the box liners. Often they were making fun of all the guys and "Big Bob". Well, one day, we were running really fast and making boxes lickety split and throwing them on the chute just to keep up. One fell off the chute and landed on Dad's head. We were scared. But he just turned around and looked up at us and said, "well write that one down on your box liners". OOPS

Our next limerick was:

Dear dad, "Big Bob" was so grand

His heart was bigger than what we had planned

Our number he'd gotten

But instead of calling us rotten

With our poetry he gave us a hand

In the 60's when I was young, Dad used to rail about "those long-haired hippies". Then one day, I saw him stop and help someone stranded on the side of the road. Dad was very kind to them. The person he had helped was one of those "long-haired hippies". It was then that I realized there was much more to Dad than I had thought at first.

Another day I was looking out the window and saw Dad in our backyard, digging a hole in the lawn, pouring cement, and putting in a tetherball pole for me. Tetherball was my most favorite thing at the time, but I had never told him that. He just noticed.

He lived and led with Faith, Passion, Dedication, Good will, and with the good will of others. And what he created in his life, he didn’t do so that we could go over to Safeway tonight and get a great pint of strawberry ice cream. He did it to create Something Special and Unique in his life.

I will remember you when I

drive along rolling fruit fields.

I will remember you when I

cast my line out on the water.

I will remember you when I

see our nation’s flag.

I will remember what you

lived and fought for.

And I will remember you