Mary Margaret Conway, MD died suddenly on Oct. 24, 2011, while doing what she loved: treating patients at her practice in Washington. She was 60 years old.
Mary was born on March 19, 1951, in Monticello, N.Y., the first born child of John J. and Ida Mae Fredenburgh Conway. She attended St. Peter’s School in Monticello through eighth grade, and St. Joseph Mountain School in Forestburgh, graduating in the class of 1968.
From the time she was 11 years old, Mary had one goal in life: to become a medical doctor. She volunteered for many years as a candy striper at Hamilton Avenue Hospital in Monticello and later worked there as a nurse’s aide, as well.
Mary attended Notre Dame College of Staten Island and Bloomfield College, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology, then obtained her nursing degree. She was employed as a Registered Nurse at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, N.J. and then in the emergency room of St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark, N.J.
Forsaking nursing at the height of her career to pursue her ultimate goal of becoming a physician, Mary attended Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine in Guadalajara, Mexico, falling in love with the area and the people who lived there, and remained to work in the free clinic for several years. She later worked at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Conn., and received a fellowship to East Carolina University’s hospital in Greenville, before entering private practice as an internist in Washington.
Mary owned and bred Quarter Horses and loved to travel with her rescued dogs to shows throughout the country. She belonged to several Quarter Horse associations.
She is survived by her brothers, John Conway and wife Debra of Barryville, N.Y., and Joseph Conway and wife Margaret of Liberty, N.Y.; her sisters, Nancy Fraser and husband Robert of Swan Lake, N.Y., and Joanne Jasper of Rock Hill, N.Y., as well as several nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was predeceased by her father, mother, and two sisters, Theresa and Jane.
A memorial mass will be scheduled in Washington at a later date and will be announced.
Burial will be at St. Peter’s Cemetery, Rock Ridge Avenue, Monticello, N.Y. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Harris Funeral Home West Street at Buckley, Liberty, N.Y., (845) 292-0001, www.Harris-FH.com.