John Thomas Conoboy, Jr.

John Thomas Conoboy, Jr., born in 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio to John and Clara (Rinzler) Conoboy passed away suddenly on New Years’ Day 2023 after a long and enjoyable life. He is survived by his wife, Carol (née Nelson), his brother Richard “Dick” Conoboy, his children Heather Bridgid Conoboy (Jian Hang) and Brendan Conoboy (Cynthia), and grandchildren, Jaron and Arri.

John attended school in the quiet suburb of Cleveland Heights where children were left free to ride bikes, self-organize games, and discover nature in the woods and fields nearby. He collected rocks and was self-taught on the guitar and mandolin. John graduated Magna Cum Laude from Case-Western Reserve University with a degree in geology and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He was rarely without his rock hammer. After his marriage to Carol in 1967, John did graduate work in geology and paleontology at Caltech and UC Davis. While there he took up hiking, camping and rock climbing. Subsequently, John and Carol taught at Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS) in Sandy Spring, Maryland.

In 1975 John began to work for the National Park Service (NPS) as a ranger on the C&O Canal National Historical Park while Carol continued as Dean of Boarding Girls at SSFS. In 1977, he transferred to Mt. Rainier National Park as part of the Search and Rescue team. What wonderful memories the family has of adventures and friends at Mt. Rainier! Mt. Rainier Chief Interpreter Bill Swift writes, “We share your memories of John’s warm heart and cheerful, funny side.”

In 1982 John accepted a transfer to Cedar Breaks National Monument where he was chief of interpretation, maintenance, and law enforcement. The family lived at the monument in the summers and in Cedar City, UT when the snow closed the roads and school was in session. During those winter months, when he wasn’t skiing, John worked at the Cedar City Office and the Kolob Canyon section of Zion National Park. He also completed a detail as acting superintendent at Crater Lake National Park.

John transferred to the Long Distance Trails Office in Santa Fe in 1989. It was an exciting opportunity to participate in the rapid development of the National Trail System, completing numerous projects with hundreds of trail partners, making many friends for NPS beyond traditional NPS units, and helping develop policies and procedures for administering national trails. Superintendent David Gaines remembers, “I was so fortunate to have him as my first trail hire who quickly became my strong right arm. Working and traveling with John across so much of the country was so enjoyable. He was such a reliable, smart, effective and dedicated trail manager.”

While at the Long Distance Trails Office, John worked on the initial special resource study on

Route 66 and found his calling. Even after his long-awaited retirement, he often mentioned that the only thing that would keep him “working” was Route 66, and indeed, he continued to work as a volunteer on Route 66 preservation all of his remaining years. Amy Webb of the National Trust for Historic Preservation reminisced, “John’s guidance and expertise as we have been navigating Congress and the legislative process have been invaluable, and I honestly don’t know what we will do without him. I will miss his calm and reassuring presence, and the fierce passion he brought to his work with Route 66.”

During his life, John explored many interests, some with more staying power than others (the less said about the stand-up comedy experiment, the better), but always stayed true to a fundamental love of and respect for the outdoors, travel and music. When the children were small, John and Carol took them on Sunday outings, and sang their special bedtime songs.

After moving to NM, John dove headlong into his interest in Irish music. He joined an Irish singing group and became interested in learning to play the bouzouki, ultimately joining Zoukfest. Rick Boyle (Zoukfest board member) said “I used to tell a joke just to hear John’s great laugh!” His dedication to Irish music followed John and Carol for years as they traveled historic trails and Route 66, joining jam sessions and seeking out fellow musicians in towns across the country and around the world. They went to Ecuador and the Galapagos, China, Iceland, Tanzania, Italy, Russia, and Ireland. While in Ireland, John played music with local musicians, both famous and infamous.

John never met a stranger. After Covid limited further travel and his playing music indoors, John continued to play a Friday session every week. Susan Sponar of the Friday music sessions says, “John made it clear that all were welcome at the session, even lesser musicians like me. That kindness meant the world to many who were beginning their journey into Celtic music.”

John’s generous spirit, intelligence, humor and joy for life will continue to inspire. Brendan remembers, “Dad taught me to crack a joke, evaluate an idea critically, and actively care about the world beyond my immediate sphere.” He saw the world as it was yet optimistically dedicated himself to its preservation for the future. John always believed that everyone had but one life to live and chose to live his to the hilt.

There will be a memorial gathering for John on March 18 to which all are welcome. For details email jtcmemorial@yahoo.com. In lieu of flowers, please tell your local Congressional representative to support legislation to designate Route 66 as the nation’s next National Historic Trail, or contact the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership (route66roadahead.org) for more information.