Charles Convery Obituary

Convery, Charles "Charlie"

Charles "Charlie" Convery passed away peacefully on May 7th at his home in Crest Hill, Illinois. He was born May 16th, 1933 in Omaha, Nebraska to Francis and Anne (Neff) Convery. He was the eldest of four children. In Omaha, he attended and graduated from Sacred Heart School and Creighton Prep High School. He proudly served our country in the Marine Corps. He was profoundly moved by his Marine Corp Reserve work at Ground Zero after 9/11. Charlie enlisted in 1952 and was deployed overseas during the Korean War. He completed his service in 1954 while based in Japan. He returned home to attend Creighton University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Traveling from Omaha to Texas and then New Mexico, Charlie worked as a casket salesman and as a field marketing representative for the AC Nielsen, Co. before moving to New York City in 1961. Soon after arriving, he met Mae Curtie, daughter of Jean and Frank Curtie. They married in 1962. The couple raised their three children; Kevin, Karen, and Brian in; Commack, NY, Forty Fort, PA, Massapequa, NY, Barrington, IL and finally in East Brunswick NJ. Charlie had a distinguished 30-year career at AC Nielsen where he rose to corporate vice president based in Manhattan. He was a terror on the corporate softball fields of Central Park. Charlie equally enjoyed post-game beer and pizza from Famous Rays dining on a bench on Sutton Place in the shadows of the Queensboro Bridge . He relished family time at the beaches from Jones Beach, to the Jersey Shore, the Outer Banks, and down to Sarasota FL. Charlie was an impressive body surfer and king of the family beach BBQ grill. Upon retirement he and Mae moved to Crest Hill. IL. where he served twelve years as Alderman of the city. He was always civic minded and a force for good in his community beginning with local school board politics in the 1970's through his formal city government responsibilities in the 2010's. He relished his role as "Papa" to his six grandchildren: Alex, Tyler, Erin, Charlie, Meghan, and Jack. He was a regular attendee at their, soccer, lacrosse, and baseball games, track meets, stage performances, and movie premieres. He was their #1 fan. Charlie was a passionate follower through thick and thin of his Nebraska Cornhuskers, Creighton Bluejays, and Boston Red Sox. With equal passion, he detested the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the New York Yankees. He loved listening to music from vintage jazz to modern rock n' roll. He attended concerts into his 80's with his last show being a memorable Fleetwood Mac performance in Milwaukee. He is survived by his wife of 63 years Mae, his children Kevin, Karen (Lee), and Brian, Daughter-in-law Jennifer, Son-in-law Mike (Lee), Daughter-in-law Lenore, his six grandchildren, his sister Kathleen Bogan, and his brother Daniel Convery. He is predeceased by his sister Mary Pat Bennett and his beloved dog Brando. According to his wishes, Charlie was cremated with his ashes interred in Crest Hill, IL. and spread in Boston, MA. and Lincoln, NE. While in hospice care, his battle cry was " Not Today!". Today finally came and he is missed.

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