Ronald Conley

Ronald L. Conley, a beloved son, brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully in Billings Montana on February 24th, 2025, at the age of 78.

Life and Legacy

Ron's consistently true passion through life was his time spent as a ham radio Operator, preferably working out of his cabin in the Bull Mountains. He was licensed at age 15 and for the rest of his life he remained a very active operator under the call-sign K7LTV. He entered contests, received many awards, and made countless contacts. He enjoyed both voice contacts and morse code (aka CW) but always said he preferred code. He was very fast on the keys and even sought out Spanish-speaking CW contacts so that he could practice his Spanish while keeping up with his keying skills. The boys remember much time spent parked on the side of a road at a county line so that Ron could make contacts for both counties simultaneously, and the contacts he made were certainly grateful to gain the rare counties he would work. Ron also made a living for many years selling radios- it was his true love- as Conley Radio Supply in Billings Montana. His absence on the airwaves will certainly be noticed, and he would wish all his fellow operators a final “73”.

Ron played many roles throughout his life. He started out as a public-school teacher in a literal- one room schoolhouse on the prairie- in the town of Ashland, Montana. It was often mentioned- but not fondly- this was a very cold winter. As previously noted, he was a successful business owner for his own Conley Radio Supply before going back to school for his master's degree in psychology so he could become a counselor and therapist -finally reaching his dreams of having a profession where he could tell people what to do- the perfect job for Ron. After retirement-let's face it, he never did retire- Ron owned and managed several rental properties and often found himself hanging with his tenants on the couch laughing (or crying) while they shared stories. This was easily the theme of Ron's life in his later years- his love and connection with people.

He loved geocaching-he visited all 50 states to complete that mission, was actively learning Spanish by taking classes, earned his pilot's license, and worked at the Montana Rescue Mission. He diligently-almost neurotically- filled mileage notebooks on every one of his cars (who needs that much information?) and, most importantly, he loved his church family. He talked to us often of his church. We would joke about Ron talking for hours and hours saying the same thing until one of the brothers discovered if you called Ron at 2pm on Sunday he would only talk for 30 minutes because church was at 3pm. It was a brilliant system. You would get the same story, “just the facts, Ma'am”, but just the one time.

Family

Ron was born in Miles City, Montana on June 28th, 1946, to Ralph and Dorothy Conley. Ron is preceded in death by his father Ralph Lee Conley, mother Dorothy Jean Hart Conley, and his grand-daughter Jamie Grossman.

Ron is survived by his sister, Renee Conley, and his five sons and their families. Son Craig Conley, and children: Zachary, Kian, and Jesse; Son Sean Conley (Teresa) and children Shaughnessy, Alexander, and Montana; Son Jason Conley (Morgan) and his children Elias, Caleb, Brionna, Nikitia, Zane, and Emma; Son Dylan Conley and children Austin, Chance, Reilly, Stephen, and Haylea; Son Andrew Conley (Ashley) and children Shayne and Ethan. Ron is also survived by 21 great-grandchildren, and nephews James Lowrimore and Damien Lowrimore.

Memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 1st, 2025, at Dahl Funeral Chapel- 10 Yellowstone Avenue, Billings, MT 59101