Curtis Edward ‘Curt’ Conaway Jr.
Funeral services for Curtis Ed-ward (Curt) Conaway, Jr., 75, of Farber, were held at 7 p.m., Thursday at Bienhoff Funeral Home in Vandalia with the Rev. Glenn Forman officiating,
Visitation was from 5 p.m., until the time of the service at the funeral home.
Additional funeral services were held Saturday at 11 a.m., with Bro. Jay Masterson officiating. Burial was in Williams Cemetery near Piggott, Arkansas. Hoggard & Sons Funeral Home of Piggott, Ark., was in charge of the arrangements.
Visitation was Saturday 10 a.m. ,until service time.
Mr. Conaway died Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019, at University Hospital in Columbia.
He was born March 15, 1944, in Fagus, the son of the late Curtis Ed-ward and Leona Mae Young Conaway. He was united in marriage to Janet Yolanda Flowers on April 28, 1996.
Survivors include his wife, Janet Yolanda Conaway of Farber; three sons, John Curtis Conaway, Matt Coose and wife, Emily of Perry, and Marcus Coose of Vandalia; two daughters, Joanna Mullins of Qulin, and Beth Miller of Farber; nine grandchildren: Justin Ewing of Texas, John Curtis Edward Conaway of St. Louis, Joseph Cloister Conaway of Sioux Falls, S.D., Jordyn Clarice Conaway of Sioux Falls, S.D., Dylan Barr of Hannibal, Will Coose of Hannibal, Kelsie Anderson and husband Chris of Stur-geon, Shelbie Miller of Hannibal, and Stephanie Miller of Farber; great-grandson, Brayden Anderson of Sturgeon; four brothers, Wayne Conaway of Benton City, Tony Conaway and wife, Sharon of Kennett, Benny Conaway of Poplar Bluff, and David Conaway of New Town, N.D.; and many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Curtis and Leona Conaway and brother, Gregory Conaway.
As a kid Curtis and his family picked cotton and went state to state picking fruit. On Jan. 3, 1963, he joined the United States Navy after serving a little over a year in the United States Army. During his career in the Navy, he traveled all over the world. He was honorably discharged on June 30, 1982, serving over 20 years as a Gunners Mate and earning many awards including the Combat Action Ribbon, two Purple Hearts, Presidential Unit Citation, Vietnam Service Medal with Seven Stars, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Expert Pistol with Silver E, Expert Rifle with Silver E, National Defense Service Medal, and many other distinguished honors. After the military, he worked for the Missouri Department of Corrections for 20 years and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department for two and one-half years.
He enjoyed making walking sticks, attending auctions, fishing and camping, and was known for his storytelling. He was a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, and NASCAR especially watching his favorites, Dale Earn-hart Sr., and Dale Earnhart, Jr.
