Obituary of James Conley

James E. "Jim" Conley, 84, husband of Sandra Smallwood Conley, passed away on Monday, October 21, 2019. 

Born in Martin, Kentucky on September 4, 1935, Jim was the son of the late Bascom and Mary Nettie Williams Conley. He received his B.S. in Education / Industrial Arts from from Eastern Kentucky University where he was a four-year letterman in football, and went on to obtain two post-graduate degrees in Education Administration from Morehead State University. 

Upon graduating from Morehead, Jim worked as an industrial arts teacher at Raceland High School and eventually became Principal there. He then spent 32 years as a K-12 textbook sales representative for Xerox and Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. 

Jim coached football at Raceland from 1961-1965, and was once named Northeastern Ky. Conference Football Coach of the Year. In 2015 he was inducted into the Raceland Football League Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the EKU Worn Cleat Club.

Affectionately known as "Augie Dad", "Stormy", "Hambone", "Jimbeano", and "Coach", Jim enjoyed playing golf, cooking for and entertaining friends, attending races at Keeneland, playing bridge with his dear friends Mike and Tommie Bennett, playing poker, and visiting with his special friend Sam Felker. 

Along with his wife Sandy, Jim is also survived by a daughter, Kimberlee Conley Perry (Ray); a son, James Kipton Conley (Kay); and two grandchildren, Clayton Conley Perry and Taylor Daniel Powell. The family would like to send a special thanks to his loving caregivers, Charles Mitchell, Kelly Agee, Aundrea Owens, Margaret Katherine Redden, and Tee Blythe.

A memorial service will be held at Rogers Funeral Home on Monday, October 28, 2019, at 6:00 p.m. with visitation preceding at 4:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions in Jim's memory be made to the Alzheimer's Association or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.