Thomas P. Conway, Sr., 96, died Friday, July 29, 2016, at his Reynolds home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016, at St. Anthony Catholic Church, Matherville. Burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery, Preemption Township. Visitation is from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, at the Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home, Reynolds. Recitation of the rosary begins at 3 p.m. There will be an additional visitation on Saturday at St. Anthony from 10 a.m. until the funeral mass begins at 11 a.m. Memorials may be made to St. Anthony Catholic Church, Reynolds Volunteer Fire Department, St. Jude Hospital or the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). Thomas Patrick Conway, Sr., was born Nov. 3, 1919, in Preemption Township, in the same home where he passed from this life, with his daughter, Kathleen, by his side. First born son of Charles J. and Anna Grady Conway, he married Geraldine M. Peterson on Feb. 16, 1946, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Rock Island. They were married for 68 years when Gerri died on Oct. 3, 2014. Tom attended Fairplay Grade School, a one room schoolhouse in Preemption Township, then Aledo High School for one year. He was graduated from St. Joseph Academy in Philo, Ill., where his aunt, Sr. Rose Marie Grady, OP, of the Springfield Dominican order, was the principal. While attending St. Ambrose College, Davenport, he was a student manager of the undefeated football squad of 1937. Longing for the farm, Tom returned to work the rest of his life on his family's centennial farm, established in the 1880s by his grandparents, Thomas and Ella Kehoe Conway. He was a grain and livestock farmer, with a penchant for Hereford cattle, rode horses and milked cows since childhood. Young Tom played ball at Perryton diamond with his best friend, Paul Boyles. He never retired; just slowed down, until his illness in 2012. His Sunday routine: caring for livestock, taking his family to mass, making breakfast for everyone. Summer Sunday afternoons were spent fishing with his children and grandchildren on the pond that he and Gerri built on land they purchased together. Gerri and Tom's travels included NJ and So. Cal. to visit daughters and grandchildren and Baltimore to visit Tom's cousin, William Cardinal Keeler. He was a member of St. Anthony Catholic Church, Matherville and the former St. Joseph Catholic Church, Preemption, where he saw Gerri for the first time. He was, also, a member of the St. Anthony Holy Name Society, Knights of Columbus and the Mercer County Farm Bureau. Mr. Conway served on the board of directors of Mer-Roc, FS. A strong man of Catholic Christian faith and virtue, he was a proud descendent of an original Irish family who settled in Preemption Township. Tom's great-grandparents, Joseph and Bridget Ayers Conway, donated land for St. Joseph Cemetery, St Joseph Church and a school in the 1860s. The family wishes to express deep gratitude to Genesis professionals Stephanie McIntosh, Brenda Howard, Patty Lee, Deb Degrauwe and Lori Edwards, also to Doctors Khan, Satti, Claude, Carr, Motwani, Gross and Wong, who were instrumental in helping Tom achieve his optimum health and well-being. Our greatest appreciation goes to the priests who gave him the Sacrament of Healing that repeatedly brought Tom back to us, Msgr. Mark J. Merdian, Fr. Robert Harness, Fr. Donald Levitt, Fr. Tony Herold and our faithful pastor and friend, Fr. John Thieryoung. Known as the "Miracle Man" and the "Comeback Kid," Tom surprised medical professionals many times since he became ill in 2012. Recovering from a disease that affects less than 1% of the population, Tom was the subject of multiple medical case presentations. His deep Catholic faith, twinkling Irish eyes and smile, and intense will to live were an inspiration to all. Throughout the world many prayers were said and answered for Tom. He was not a man of great accomplishments. He was just a great man – a "man of the earth." Now his soul lives in eternity in Heaven. Those left to cherish his memory include his children, Thomas P. Conway Jr., rural Aledo, Margaret Ann Conway, East Hanover, N.J., Joseph J. (Nan Richter) Conway, Ann Arbor, Mich., William (Pamela) Conway, Bettendorf, Daniel B. Conway, Reynolds, and Kathleen M. Conway of Lake Forest, Calif. and Reynolds; grandchildren, Clare Conway, Meredith DeTore, Megan (Darin) McDermott, C. Andrew DeTore, Kaitlin Conway (Eric Heinl), Joseph Patrick "J.P." Conway, William Michael Conway, Brian Conway, Matthew Conway, David Conway, Erin (David) Carpenter, Rory (Tricia) Conway, and Molly Conway; great-grandchildren, Mackenzie, Broden and Bauer McDermott; brother, James G. Conway, Aledo; sister, Kathleen A. Corrigan, Bettendorf; and sister-in-law, Corrine Conway, Sun City, Ariz. He was preceded in death by his parents; a newborn son, Eugene Michael; granddaughter, Kelly Ann Conway; daughter-in-law, Patricia McGowen Conway; sister, Mary E. MacDonald; and brother, Charles F. Conway. Online condolences may be left at wheelanpressly.com.