Mr. Richard H. Conant

March 17, 1922 - August 28, 2012

Richard H. Conant Loving Husband, Veteran, Mason, Owner Conant’s Market LOWELL – Richard Henry Conant, 90, the beloved husband of Esther Johnson Conant, who passed away in December 2010 and to whom he was married for 63 years, died Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia, New Hampshire with his family by his side. Richard was born in Lowell on March 17, 1922, the youngest child of the late William Faulkner Conant, Sr., and Clara (Flemings) Conant. He was the brother of the late William F. Conant, Jr., Edward Conant, and Jessie (Conant) Dick. Richard was educated in the Lowell public schools, including the Sycamore Street Elementary School, the Moody Junior High School, and Lowell High School, from which he was graduated in 1940. As a boy he was a newspaper carrier for the Evening Leader and Courier Citizen and attended the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City with a group of 39 other newsboys. A veteran of Eighth Army Air Force’s 447th Bomb Group in World War II, Richard was a B-17 waist gunner and reached the rank of Staff Sergeant. He flew in 30 combat missions in “flying fortresses” over Germany in planes with names such as “Virginia Helen”, “Shack Happy” and “Little Rock Blonde”. For his service the military awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross and his fellow flyboys entered him in to the rolls of the “Lucky Bastards Club”. In addition to the DFC, he was also awarded the Air Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. For more than 80 years, starting with Richard’s grandfather, A.J. Conant, the family ran Conant’s Market grocery store in the Belvidere section of Lowell. In the days before the internet, customers would place grocery orders by phone in the morning and have produce, meat, and dry goods delivered to their homes in the afternoon. When the store closed in 1977, Richard went to work for the Cambridge Valve and Fitting in Billerica. A life-long member of First United Baptist Church in Lowell and later a member of the Second Baptist Church in Sanbornton, NH, Richard was an active church member, both as a church usher and in church league sports teams. He was a formidable pitcher for the First United Baptist Church softball team in the 1960s, but was most fearsome as a duck pin bowler at the Wamesit Lanes in Tewksbury where on Monday nights he frequently scored the highest single and triple games. A Freemason with the William North Lodge of Lowell, Richard was raised to a Master Mason on December 12, 1951. He proudly wore his Masonic ring throughout his life. Richard enjoyed summer vacations with family and friends on Lake Winnisquam in New Hampshire, before he and Esther retired to live there permanently. He was an active organizer in the 1960s of the Winnisquam Boat & Ski Club, serving a term as President. He taught scores of people how to water-ski at “The Lake”. A big Boston sports fan, he loved watching the Bruins win their sixth Stanley Cup in 2011, but the sport he liked to watch most was the one his children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren were playing. Throughout his adult life his closest friend, greatest love, and unbeatable cribbage opponent was his wife Esther, to whom he was married on April 30, 1947 and for whom he cared for daily in the last years of her life. Surviving Mr. Conant are his five children, Nancy Cummings and her husband George of Webster, NH, Bruce Conant and his wife Jody of Woburn, Stephen Conant and his wife Nancy Rourke of Lowell, William Conant and his wife Nancy of Derry, NH, and Gary Conant and his wife Michelle of Litchfield, NH; his grandchildren, Eric Cummings and his wife Orly, Susan Perron and her husband Nelson, Christopher Conant and Benjamin Conant, Sarah Conant, James Conant and his wife Cynthia, Ian Conant, Michael Conant , Jennifer McNally, Kelly McNally, Kevin McNally; and many great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was also grandfather of the late Adam Conant. FUNERAL NOTICE CONANT—In Laconia, NH, August 28, 2012 at Lakes Region General Hospital, Richard H. Conant, 90, the beloved husband of the late Esther E. (Johnson) Conant and a longtime Lowell resident. Family and friends may call at the FAY McCABE FUNERAL HOME, 105 MOORE STREET, LOWELL on FRIDAY from 4 until 8 PM. Mr. Conant’s Funeral Service will take place on SATURDAY MORNING at 10 A.M. at the Funeral Home. Burial will follow in the Lowell Cemetery. As an expression of sympathy, donations in Richard’s memory may be made to your favorite charity. ARRANGEMENTS BY THE FAY McCABE FUNERAL DIRECTORS 978-459-9222. www.faymccabe.com