Jones logo
Dr. Roy Merrill Conmey
January 1, 1883 –November 5, 1971
Last Rites Pending for Dr. Conmey

Funeral services for Dr. Roy Merrill Conmey, 88, a longtime Sergeant Bluff physician who died Friday night in California, are to be announced by the W. Harry Christy Funeral Home in Morningside, Ia. Dr. Conmey, one of Sergeant Bluff's most prominent residents, served the community for 60 years as a family doctor before retiring and moving to California in 1966.
He was born Jan. 1, 1883, near Wyoming, Iowa. He received his early education there and later attended the University of Iowa. He was graduated from that institution in 1905. After serving his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Sioux City, he moved to Sergeant Bluff March 1906 to begin his private practice. Arriving with only $13 in his pocket he rented a room above Woodford's Grocery Store which doubled as his office and living quarters.
The following year he married the former Belle Woodford, June 19, 1907, at Sergeant Bluff. In 1919 they planned and had built for them the combination home and office familiar to all citizens of Sergeant Bluff. In 1908 Dr. Conmey became the first person in Sergeant Bluff to own a car, a Buick. Prior to that time he had rented a team and buggy for a dollar a drive in which to travel around to see his patients.
Dr. Conmey also served Sergeant Bluff as it's second mayor. The issue of his election involved installation of electricity in the town. During his administration the necessary electrical facilities were installed.
Many Sioux City physicians received instruction from Dr. Conmey when he served as a professor at the old Sioux City College of Medicine. In 1955, the Sergeant Bluff high school was dedicated in the doctor's name.
Mrs. Conmey died in 1961. Dr. Conmey retired Feb. 22, 1966 due to illness. After retirement he moved to Tujunga, Calif.
Dr. Conmey was a member of Elks Lodge 1497, Burbank, CA; Masonic Lodge AF&AM, Sioux City; Columbian Commandery 18, Sioux City; and Sergeant Bluff Community United Methodist Church. He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Iowa Medical Association, the Woodbury County Medical Society, and the Academy of General Practice.
He is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Frances Sheehan of Tujunga, CA. The body will arrive Tuesday at the funeral home.

Submitted by: Laura Kendall
Source: Unknown newspaper, probably from Sergeant Bluff, IA.
Note: He is buried with his wife, Bell, at Graceland Park Cemetery in Sioux City, IA.

image

© Copyright 1997-2013, The Art Department, © Copyright 2014-2020, Richard Harrison.
Last updated on Friday, 16-Apr-2021 16:55:44 MST