Patrick Kelly Conley Family Home Page:Information about Edward Porter Conley
Edward Porter Conley (b. November 14, 1923, d. July 21, 1955)
Notes for Edward Porter Conley:
Comments from Mom about all the moving around she and dad did:
Mom and Dad met when Mom moved from Hickory Corners to Laona and lived with Ellen and Lester Ludeman as she completed her education.Mom and Dad were sweethearts throughout high school.
They married September 11, 1942, and moved to Baraboo-Devils Lake where Dad worked building a munitions plant in Sauk City, WI.Mom said they lived in a cottage on Devils Lake that in later years became part of the State Park.
From Baraboo they moved to Milwaukee during WWII.war time.Dad worked for Clark Manufacturing Co.Ed was born in Milwaukee on January 25, 1943.
In September 1943, Dad entered the service.Mom moved to Laona and lived with Grandpa and Grandma on the farm until she moved to a house in town.Grandpa and Grandma bought Mom a house in town.Jim was born August 6, 1944.
After the war, they moved to Coleman, WI where Dad enrolled in a cabinet making course at Chadwick.Pat was born in Oconto Falls on August 28, 1948, while they lived in Coleman.I recall mention of some good friends the Otts in Coleman.I also recall a story mom told that they lived next to a railroad track.One day mom heard the train coming and knew Ed and Jim were outside.As she rushed from the house, she saw the family dog pull or push Ed and Jim from the train tracks only to see the dog killed by the train.
From Coleman, it was on to Waupun, WI.Dad worked for the Men's State Prison as a civil servant for 2-3 years.Dad also drove bus to make ends meet.While on duty at the prison, Dad dozed off and got a 3 day suspension.Dad got mad and quit the prison job.Memories of Waupun are Jim Finlin, and Irishman, who lived behind us and proclaimed his property the last Irish outpost in the Dutch community.Good friend was Kenny Hoppe and dog Pal.Friends of Mom and Dad became recognized race driver, Bill Garrett?Remember Dad building a huge sliding hill for the kids in the neighborhood.Favorite baby sitter was Joyce Eggers who lived on a farm south of town.Family pasttime was watching the ducks and geese at Horicon Marsh.
After Waupun we moved to Beaver Dam, WI.Dad worked for Starkweather Construction.I recall Dad taking us to a lake to swim where cows had access to the water and I remember the feeling of the soft mud squishing between my toes and thinking it was cow manure.Recall Mom being deathly against BB guns because someone eye would be shot out.One day Ed came home and said one of his friends had his eye taken out with a BB gun.Mom also told story of Ed being caught smoking cigarettes.Dad gave Ed money to go to the corner grocery to buy cigarettes and then made Ed smoke until he got sick.During our stay in Beaver Dam, Ed was struck by a car as he crossed a street.Mom commented that Ed was not in good condition.I befriended a young boy in Beaver Dam who was poor.He had a reck of a tricycle and I had a dandy tric with a metal box on the back.We often switched tricycles so he could ride mine.Hours were spent watching TV, a new product on the market at the time.Favorites were Hop Along Cassidy and Howdy Duddy.Mike was born February 25, 1951.
From Beaver Dam, we moved back to Laona.Dad and Arnold traveled to work at White Pine, MI in a new mining town.Dad only stayed there for 1 or 2 months.Mom and boys lived in the cabin on the farm.One great recollection is Mike coming into the cabin one day and asking mom for "Beh and Tet on Up".Finally, after Mike became upset, Mom figured out what Mike wanted was bread with ketchup on.While traveling, Dad rolled and wrecked our car.Mom said dad was in bad shape.
From the farm, we moved to the Russel cottage on the east side of Silver Lake.Dad worked at Connors Mill.The pay was not good, and Dad quit when one pay check for two week and 80 hours of work netted45 cents after paying for groceries at Connors store.I have that check on file.Never cashed.
Dad decided to move onto better opportunities.Dad read about a construction supervisors position with Estate Builders, interviewed in Antigo and was hired.
Dad started with Estate Builders in May of 1955 as supervisor over the area.He went to a new home in Neenah to install metal support posts in the basement.While working on the last pole and the last hole with an electric drill, the electric drill shorted out and he was electrocuted.He was thrown across the basement.People who planned to purchase the home had visited in the morning and heard Dad singing and whistling in the basement.The same people found Dad when they visited the home in the afternoon.There was no ground on the drill.Walls had been sprayed down the previous night.It was a hot humid day, floors damp, hands moist, and he became ground for the defective drill.Dad was killed July 21, 1955.Dad had started in May and died in July 1955.
Military Service:
Wisconsin PHM3 USNR WWII
Forest Republican - July 55:
EDWARD CONLEY JR. WAS ELECTROCUTED
Edward Porter Conley Jr., 31, of Laona, who was doing carpenter work at Neenah, was found dead about 2:30 last Thursday afternoon in a basement of a home that was being built.Clutched in his hand was an electric drill that he had been operating.
Mrs. Merle Harrison who was having the home built, discovered the body on a visit to the basement, Neenah Police Chief Irving Stilp said.Conley's hand was burned and the drill still plugged into an extension cord.Apparently Conley was electrocuted as he operated the drill.
Deceased was born Nov. 14, 1923 in Laona where he had resided all his life.He was married to Betty Gilligan on Sept. 11, 1942 and served as a pharmacist mate third class in the navy during World War II.A carpenter by trade he was employed by the Estate Builders of Watertown.
Mr. Conley was in state at Halverson Funeral Home in Crandon prior to funeral service at 3 o'clock Sunday afternoon in the Laona Presbyterian church, with the Rev. Frank Harris officiating.
Hymns were sung by Mrs. John Pierce and Mrs. Floyd Newton.
Military rites were conducted by the Cook-Elfors post of Laona which furnished the honorary pallbearers, Norbert Stauber, Arnold Calhoun, Merle Rusch, Robert Baltus, John Calhoun and Robert Carter.
Active pallbearers were Manville Kramer, Edgar Wilson, Max Ratty, Donald Britten, Clarence Bull, and Edward Krauze.
Interment was in the Laona Cemetery.
Surviving besides his wife are four sons, Edward III, James, Patrick, and Michael, at home;his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Conley Sr. of Laona;three brothers, Lyle of Crandon, Arnold of Laona, and Earl of White Lake;a sister Mrs. Frank Slimmer of Sheboygan Falls;two half-sisters, Mrs. Wenzel Mach of Antigo and Mrs. Edward Kochof Milwaukee, and grandmothers, Mrs. Sabra Ison and Mrs. Edward Cooney of Crandon.
Those from out of town who attended the services were Mr. and Mrs. Harold Seymour of Neenah, Mrs. Erwin Kesler of Kelly Lake, Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Gilligan of Hickory, Mrs. Leola Baccus of Fond du Lac, Mrs. and Mrs. Knute Arnteson, Iris Rugg, and Mr. and Mrs. Carl Fredrickson of Oconto, Mr. and Mrs. Lyle Gilligan and son and Mrs. Dan McDonnel of Gillett,Miss Alsteen of Lena,Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Cooney and son of Middletown, Ohio, Mr. and Mrs. Roger Gilligan and Dr. and Mrs. A.R. Bartsch of Milwaukee, Mr. and Mrs. Wenzel Mach of Antigo, Mr. and Mrs. Leo Bohlman of Rosendale, Mr. and Mrs. James Dudley and Mr. and Mrs. Elwood Bacon of Green Bay, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Conley of West Bend, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Wilson of Argonne, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Ison, Mr. and Mrs. Ambers Howerton, Mr. and Mrs. R. Howerton, Mrs. Sabra Ison, Mr. and Mrs. Dave Adams, Mrs. Ed. Cooney, Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Wilson, Mr. and Mrs. Wendal Ison, Mr. and Mrs. John Cody, Mrs. Mary Wilson and son, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Pfeiffer, Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Bonack, Mrs. Jack Carter, Mr. and Mrs. Doc Ison and Mrs. Roy Whitt of Crandon, Roger Rogers of Black well,and Ray Schrader, Louis Kaker and Allan Graves of Wabeno and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Slimmer of Sheboygan Falls.
More About Edward Porter Conley:
Burial: Unknown, Laona Cemetery, Lot 36.
Fact 13: Accidentally electrocuted 1955.
Nationality: Irish.
Occupation: Carpenter.
Religion: Presbyterian.
More About Edward Porter Conley and Elizabeth Jane Gilligan:
Marriage: September 11, 1942, Baraboo, WI.
Children of Edward Porter Conley and Elizabeth Jane Gilligan are: