Lucy Conway

Lucy Sarojini Conway was born at the southernmost tip of India in Nagercoil. She came from a family that was way ahead of its time in many ways and also put a high value on education. Many Indian women didn’t have the opportunity or desire for continued education in those days, but Lucy had both. After receiving degrees in New Delhi and Bombay, in 1952 she came to Stanford University to major in journalism.....the first woman from India to attend Stanford. There she met Ralph Edward Conway while standing in line to sign up for classes as they did in those days. As it would turn out (either by chance or design) she ended up in one of Ralph’s classes where he was the Teacher’s Assistant for his graduate studies in journalism as well. Lucy would recount the story of Ralph reading romantic poetry in an English class, all the while staring directly at her! Shocking! When her student visa expired, she returned to India and keep in touch with Ralph via snail mail for 7 years, returning in 1961 to get married in Rough and Ready, California. Their first son, Kenneth, was born in 1962 and second, Vance, in 1965. Most of Lucy’s professional life was spent as a Graphic Designer at a publishing firm in Portland. It was the ideal career for someone with a journalism background as well as love of art. This attraction to art initially began with abstract art, but over time included many media and eventually gravitated towards watercolor. In addition to art, Lucy had a fondness for birds, physical fitness, was a devout Christian, loved to read and volunteer her time. She took watercolor and aerobics classes for years, volunteered at the local soup kitchen for more than a decade as well as a Montessori school. She was an active parishioner at First United Methodist Church the entire time she lived in Vancouver. One of her mantras was “Do The Right Thing” and motto for life was “Make It Happen!”. She exhibited a tremendous compassion for the less fortunate and one of her outstanding qualities was being blessed with an abundance of empathy. Lucy never wasted a moment of her life. Now she is in Heaven with Ralph, Ken and many other family members and friends.