Francis J. Conway, ex-trooper, authority on arson investigations [The Buffalo News, N.Y.]

Dec. 20--According to many of his colleagues, no one in Western New York knew more about arson investigations than Francis J. "Frank" Conway.

"Frank used to say that you'll never be a good fire investigator unless you're willing to dig all the way through the ashes and debris, right to the floor," recalled one of Mr. Conway's protegees, retired Buffalo Fire Marshal James O'Neill. "He'd say, 'Six inches below the debris of any arson fire, you'll find a confession.' "

A retired state trooper who served as a mentor to many local police and fire officials, Mr. Conway died Monday in the St. John the Baptist hospice residence in Buffalo after a long illness. A resident of Newstead who spent winters in Bradenton, Fla., he was 81.

As a private investigator, Mr. Conway assisted police and fire officials at countless fire scenes, going back to the late 1950s, recalled his close friend, Buffalo attorney Thomas H. Burton.

Mr. Conway worked on many cases where arson was used to commit insurance fraud or to cover up burglaries or violent crimes.

"Frank told me he lost count of the number of fires he investigated at 4,000, and that was 25 years ago," Burton said. "Nobody in this field was more respected for their honesty or their expertise."

Mr. Conway grew up in Hornell and Belfast, moving to the Buffalo area when he served with the State Police from 1953 to 1959. He took an early retirement from police work to take a more lucrative job as a special agent and fraud investigator with the National Board of Fire Underwriters.

He left that job in 1970 to work with National Fire Adjustment Co. in Amherst, and then formed his own company, Francis J. Conway Investigations, in 1979.

Mr. Conway ran Conway Investigations until retiring in April 2010, at which time O'Neill took over the business.

According to O'Neill, Mr. Conway had a soft spot for families--especially those who were already down on their luck--whose lives had been devastated by fires.

For many years at Christmas time, Mr. Conway would single out a family whose home had burned and would give the family a check for $500 and some personal gifts, O'Neill said.

"Frank knew what fire could do, and he felt a lot of compassion for these people," O'Neill said.

During the 1970s, Mr. Conway set up a course for fire investigations and taught it to local police and fire officials at Erie County Community College's north campus.

He also worked closely with many local lawyers, and friends said he used to remark, "The cheaper the attorney, the longer the prison term."

He loved fishing--especially on annual trips with his sons--and golf. On June 19, 2002, colleagues held a testimonial dinner for Mr. Conway, and state legislators had the date declared "Francis J. Conway Day."

His first wife, Roberta Stillman Conway, died in 1975, and his second wife, Donna Scull Conway, died this year.

He is survived by four sons, Kevin, William, Michael and F. Joseph;a daughter, Trina Boller; two stepsons, Jerry Scull and David Scull; a stepdaughter, Kathy Barbieri; and a sister, Eileen Gibby.

A service will be at 11 a. m. Thursday in Amigone Funeral Home, 8440 Main St., Harris Hill.

--Dan Herbeck

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