Obituary for Dorothy Conover
CAMDEN………………..Dorothy Irene Conover (nee Gray) passed away peacefully in Camden on May 28, where she had resided for over 40 years. She was born July 18, 1920 in Central City, Pennsylvania, the oldest of five children, to Thomas and Clara (ne Gearhart) Gray.
She attended business college in Johnstown, Pennsylvania following high school. In 1940, she answered the call to join the war effort and was one of the famed “Government Girls” working for the War Department, Office of the Surgeon General in Washington, DC. After the War, she made a life changing choice to work for the State Department in Stuttgart, Germany, and throughout 1946 and 1947 worked on the reunification and repatriation of displaced refugees. She met her future husband, Lewis Conover, on the flight to Europe when he gallantly helped her with her luggage. Following their service in Germany, Dorothy and Lewis returned to Washington where Dorothy worked for the House Select Committee on Foreign Aid overseeing the Marshall Plan to rebuild war-torn Europe, and Lewis attended the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. They were married in Washington in 1949. Following graduation, Lewis joined the post-war steel industry and they enjoyed a long career with numerous overseas postings in South America and Europe including Colombia, where she gave birth to three children, and later, spent many years in France and Belgium.
In search of a state-side home-base, Dorothy suggested a summer trip to the coast of Maine. That trip cemented their love of Camden, where they eventually retired to their beloved house on High Street. Dorothy has been a dedicated member of the First Congregational Church and served on various committees, working in the soup kitchen and with Heavenly Threads. She was a long-time docent at the Farnsworth Museum and a long- time member of the Garden Club, the Monday Club where she served as President, the Camden Yacht Club, and the Megunticook Golf Club. Dorothy had a zest for life and exploration and especially enjoyed her talents as a gardener, seamstress and cook.
Dorothy was pre-deceased by her beloved husband Lewis, and is survived by her three children, H. Christian Conover and his wife Amy of Simsbury, Connecticut; Leslie Conover of Washington, D.C.; and Lynn Conover and her husband Marco Liem of Framingham, Massachusetts -- five grandchildren and one great-grandchild; and her youngest sibling Susan Burtnett and her husband Frank of Springfield, Virginia and Rockport, Maine; along with numerous nieces and nephews. She was loved by all and will be greatly missed. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the First Congregational Church of Camden or any other local charity.
Condolences may be shared with the family at www.longfuneralhomecamden.com. The funeral service with Covid restrictions will be held at 1:30PM, Thursday, June 3, 2021 at the First Congregatiaonal Church UCC, 55 Elm Street, Camden with the Rev. Dr. Ute Molitor officiating. Burial will follow in the Mountain View Cemetery in Camden. Arrangements are with the Long Funeral Home, 9 Mountain Street, Camden.
She attended business college in Johnstown, Pennsylvania following high school. In 1940, she answered the call to join the war effort and was one of the famed “Government Girls” working for the War Department, Office of the Surgeon General in Washington, DC. After the War, she made a life changing choice to work for the State Department in Stuttgart, Germany, and throughout 1946 and 1947 worked on the reunification and repatriation of displaced refugees. She met her future husband, Lewis Conover, on the flight to Europe when he gallantly helped her with her luggage. Following their service in Germany, Dorothy and Lewis returned to Washington where Dorothy worked for the House Select Committee on Foreign Aid overseeing the Marshall Plan to rebuild war-torn Europe, and Lewis attended the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. They were married in Washington in 1949. Following graduation, Lewis joined the post-war steel industry and they enjoyed a long career with numerous overseas postings in South America and Europe including Colombia, where she gave birth to three children, and later, spent many years in France and Belgium.
In search of a state-side home-base, Dorothy suggested a summer trip to the coast of Maine. That trip cemented their love of Camden, where they eventually retired to their beloved house on High Street. Dorothy has been a dedicated member of the First Congregational Church and served on various committees, working in the soup kitchen and with Heavenly Threads. She was a long-time docent at the Farnsworth Museum and a long- time member of the Garden Club, the Monday Club where she served as President, the Camden Yacht Club, and the Megunticook Golf Club. Dorothy had a zest for life and exploration and especially enjoyed her talents as a gardener, seamstress and cook.
Dorothy was pre-deceased by her beloved husband Lewis, and is survived by her three children, H. Christian Conover and his wife Amy of Simsbury, Connecticut; Leslie Conover of Washington, D.C.; and Lynn Conover and her husband Marco Liem of Framingham, Massachusetts -- five grandchildren and one great-grandchild; and her youngest sibling Susan Burtnett and her husband Frank of Springfield, Virginia and Rockport, Maine; along with numerous nieces and nephews. She was loved by all and will be greatly missed. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the First Congregational Church of Camden or any other local charity.
Condolences may be shared with the family at www.longfuneralhomecamden.com. The funeral service with Covid restrictions will be held at 1:30PM, Thursday, June 3, 2021 at the First Congregatiaonal Church UCC, 55 Elm Street, Camden with the Rev. Dr. Ute Molitor officiating. Burial will follow in the Mountain View Cemetery in Camden. Arrangements are with the Long Funeral Home, 9 Mountain Street, Camden.