Bernice "Bunny" Conway

Bernice M. “Bunny” (Bartlett) Conway, of Danvers, died peacefully on January 1, 2015 at the age of 87. Born on August 26, 1927 to George and Caroline (Curran) Bartlett of Somerville, Bunny was a devoted sister to the late Lawrence G. Bartlett and his wife Millie, the wife of the late Robert W. Conway, a loving mother to Stephen P. Conway (deceased) and Robert D. Conway of Tampa, FL, a wonderfully generous and loving grandmother (Nana Bunny) to Ryan and Ryanne Conway of Middleton, Robbie and Kate Conway of Hollywood, FL, Timothy Conway of San Diego, CA, Ashley Conway of Beverly, Lauren Conway of Danvers, and Christina Van Knowe of Danvers, and a proud and adoring great-grandmother to Ava and Gavin Conway Bunny is also survived by her loving and devoted daughter-in-law Janis Conway of Danvers; her loving and devoted niece, Carolee (Bartlett) and her husband Kevin Jansen of Westford, her loving and devoted nephew Larry “Shawn” Bartlett and his wife Jan Tobin of Arlington and her dear and loving friend Maureen Joyce and her husband Neal of Danvers. Bunny also leaves many loving nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews and many, many, friends. A 1946 graduate of Somerville High School, Bunny was a Certified Dental Assistant (C.D.A.), graduating from the Boston School of Dental Nursing and Salem State College for Dental Assisting, as well as the Essex Agricultural Technical Institute for Operating Room Technicians. Her favorite endeavors were traveling the world and volunteering. Bunny walked on The Great Wall in China, sailed through the Panama Canal, cruised on the QE 2 from New York to London and flew on the Concorde back to New York. She attended the Rose Bowl and its parade, walked on Skywalker over the Grand Canyon and loved attending Celtics games. She vacationed on many of the Caribbean islands, with Aruba being her favorite. But her most memorable adventure was the 6 weeks of dental volunteer work in Mole St. Nicolas, Haiti in 1971 for the Catholic Medical Missionary Board. “I’ve been thinking about volunteering for a long time in order to relieve in some small way the sufferings of people without much hope for a more comfortable life” In addition to her work in Haiti, Bunny volunteered for many years with Hospice, Rosie’s Place, and was the first female volunteer to visit people in the maximum security section of Danvers State Hospital. Visiting hours will be Friday, January 9, 2015 from 4-7PM in C.R. Lyons & Sons, Funeral Directors, 28 Elm St., Danvers Square. Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 9AM in Saint Mary of the Annunciation Church, 24 Conant St., Danvers followed by a celebration of Bunny’s life at the Danversport Yacht Club. All of Bunny’s family and friends are invited and are encouraged to share stories, memories and laughs. “Live, Love, Laugh”. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Bunny’s memory to the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress, 20 Burlington Mall Road #261, Burlington MA 01803.