Luke Conley Obituary

Luke Conley attended John C. Fremont High School in Los Angeles, CA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Luke Conley.

Graduation Year	Class of 1956
Date of Passing	Apr 23, 2017
About	After graduation from Fremont High in 1956, Luke Conley and a brave group of fellow graduates joined the Air Force. This included Thomas Jackson, Mars Davis, Thad Smith, Teddy Lockhart and many others. In the Air Force, Luke was trained in electronics and as a radar specialist. This expertise helped him later gain employment at several aerospace firms. Luke later changed his career path in the late 1960's by attending Law School in Sacramento, where he later passed the State Bar. He maintained a successful private practice as a litigator for many years. Throughout his life, Luke had a love of NCAA Men's Basketball and he attended most events. Many of us remember our annual summer pilgrimage meeting up for the Concord Jazz Festival, where we played cards, dined well, laughed often and reminisced over the good old days at Freemont. At the Jazz Festival, we were blessed to be able to enjoy some of the greatest Jazz artists, including: Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughn and many ... many more! Luke approached his business and personal life with passion and purpose, and developed many close and loyal friendships throughout his lifetime. Many of us remember his many funny emails where he tirelessly informed and gathered us for Reunions, Cruises, Picnics and planning events. His goal was to live life to the fullest and in such a manner as to have no regrets. If you knew Luke, then you know he accomplished his goal. Sadly, our friend Luke G. Conley passed away April 23, 2017 from cancer complications. He will always be fondly remembered and is already missed. Many of the group photos are from the Conley collection... Luke you may be gone, but you're not forgotten.

Classmate Memories

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Dovard Ross '56 said:

I was one of the "brave group of graduates (W'56)" that Luke convinced to join the Air Force. One day in June of '56, I had finished my classes at LA Harbor JC, and I decided to visit some friends at Fremont. They were all talking about joining the Navy after graduation. I believe Luke, Thad Smith, and Teddy Lockhart may have been in the Navy reserve. Willis Knox and I had already joined the National Guard a mere month or so earlier. There were twenty three of us from Fremont and Jefferson high schools.

After most of my friends graduated in Summer 1956, we all went to the recruiting office near the corner of Florence and Broadway. We met a Staff Sergeant Sorenson who convinced Luke to convince us to join the Air Force, telling us we would be together for four years of our enlistment. Some of my friends I have not seen since our eight weeks of basic training... ending in the Fall of 1956.

Needless to say, Luke was put in charge of us while we were in transit to our basic training facility, Parks Air Force Base near Pleasanton CA. A spokesperson for our motley group.

That decision to join the Air Force indubitably changed the course of my life for the better.

Thank you Luke George Conley III. RIP, you did very well ❤️‍

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