The Town of Callery mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens, Ed Conway, who died on August 1st at the age of 77. From 2005 to 2022, Conway was on Callery District Council, including as council chairman.

“When I learned of his passing, it broke my heart,” said current City Council member Rose Marie Wirtz. “I lost a dear friend, one who was more like family to me.”

Wirtz — whose husband is mayor — first met the Conway family in 1995 through Ed Conway’s wife shortly after they moved to the borough.

“I was working for Callery Borough when she contacted me with a problem she and Ed were having,” Wirtz said. “This was the beginning of a friendship that has lasted nearly 30 years. Although the Conways were newer to Callery, it was as if they had lived here forever, and to me they became like extended family.”

Conway joined the City Council in 2005 and will remain until 2022. Wirtz spoke glowingly of Conway’s tenure and his contributions to the borough.

“He took this position very seriously,” Wirtz said. “He was a man of his word and a wonderful team player. He always had a smile on his face and a kind word. And if he said he was going to do something, rest assured, it was done.”

One of the major milestones during Conway’s time in office came when Callery agreed to sell management of its sanitary sewer system to the City of Evans in 2017. This ended about a decade of legal wrangling between the boroughs over sewer fees.

“It was a long, tiring process, but it was a job that needed to be done,” Wirtz said. “Ed worked hard to get residents the best deal he could. Ed never complained about the time and energy being an active councilor took.”

Another notable achievement happened in 2007, when he helped bring public water to more city residents through an agreement with the Adams Township Municipal Water Authority. In doing so, he also worked to secure a block grant that helped low-income earners pay their withdrawal fees.

“He was always committed to helping people,” Wirtz said.

In 2011, the Conway family’s house was destroyed in a fire and the couple narrowly escaped with their lives. To make matters worse, Conway’s wife, Judy, had just returned home from a 10-week hospital stay for a broken hip.

84 Lumber President Maggie Hardy Magerko hired several local contractors to build a new home for the Conways — which included a wheelchair-accessible ramp — at no cost to them, with several Callery residents teaming up to help in the effort. The couple was able to move into the new home just three months after the fire.

The last time Wirtz spoke to Conway was six or seven weeks ago.

“He said he’d been to the hospital and felt like that,” Wirtz said. “I filled him in on a couple of projects we had completed and various things going on at Callery. He said, ‘Keep up the good work.'”