William H. Conroy III of Wrentham, MA passed away peacefully on February 18, 2022, he was 91 years old. “Bill”, as he was known was raised in Dedham. He was the loving son of the late William II and Bernadine Conroy, brother of Faith Fiore and her husband Angelo of Hyde Park, Claire Mosher and her husband Robert of Baldwinsville, NY, Bernadine “Tootsie” Conroy and her husband Philip of Dedham. He was the loving father of William H Conroy IV and his wife Amanda, Dennis Conroy and his partner Pat Nadeau, Karen Conroy Radomski and her husband Paul. Loving Grandfather to 1st Lt. William H Conroy V U.S.M.C, Jack, Christopher, Meagan Radomski, her daughter Mackenna and Shaun Radomski. He is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws and friends.
As a child he attended Dedham High School and excelled in baseball, football, basketball and track. But it was baseball that would change his life. At 6’-2” and 175 Ibs. The tall lanky left-hander from Dedham MA was signed by the Boston Braves his senior year. He made his first pro debut at 19 in the North Carolina State League with High -Point Thomasville going 15-7 with a 3.35 ERA. From there he went on to play in Northern League in Wisconsin for the Eau Claire Bears, going 16-9 with a 3.25 ERA. It is here that he met a young kid named Hank Aaron. As Dad told it;” I was pitching and we were down by one run and it was the bottom of the 9th. Hank comes over to me with a wide smile and says: ‘Don’t worry about this Billy Baby I Gut yeah. I’ll hit one over the center field fence.” One pitch goes by then two then on the third BANG and there it soured over the center filed fence. Hank came in the dugout and said; “Did you ever doubt me Billy Baby?” It was up to the Braves after for both of them. Dad had it tough as there were the likes of Warren Spahn and others ahead of him in the rotation. He decided to break his contract and head north to Canada where he played for the Sherbrooke Alouettes for 2 seasons. He returned home and began playing in the Boston Park League for St. Paul’s. He was voted into the Boston Park League Hall of Fame in 1988. During the day he would be working at the Charlestown Navy Yard. He was given an opportunity to take classes to become a Naval Architect which he aggressively pursued. He worked for the Navy at Supship in Newport, RI for 30 years. He was a fixture at the Black Pearl for many years. His job would take him around the world and then some. He was the definition of a Perfectionist. Navy Commanders would hold there breathe when he came onboard to inspect their ship. Everything he did whether it was building a rock wall or writing a check it was done to perfection.
Bill was an avid sports fan and loved baseball and football. Once during a family cook -out we almost had a throw down over a wing darts tournament lucky no one got impaled. He was never far from his good friends Walter and Joanne Tyo. He was known to most as “Uncle Bill” to which his cooler was named along with his mug, the “Chalice “as he referred to it was always cold inside. He was a guy that followed his rules right up until the end. It’s fitting that baseball carried him to places only some of us dream of and to say his life was full of balls, strikes, home runs and near misses would be an understatement. I’m sure he’s now throwing nothing but no hitters for team Heaven.
Due to Covid -19 the family services will be private. This spring or early summer we will we will hold a Celebration to which Bill deserves and would want you all to attend. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in dad’s memory to: Boston Park League: Send Check to BPL, c/o Bob Johnson, 27 Donegal Way Mansfield, MA 02048, Venmo:@bostonparkleague29