We regret to advise of the death of Corporal Wilfred Conway (Ret’d) in Palm Springs, CA on 04 May 2016 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Wilf joined the Royal Canadian Engineers as a Field Engineer in the 1950s. Among his skills, Wilf was a crack shot, competing with the 1957 Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering team that won the Major General Letson Trophy that is awarded to the Regular Force 12-competitor rifle team with the highest aggregate score in the Canadian Army Small Arms Competition. An Airborne Sapper, an injury on course resulted in his release for medical reasons
Upon his release, Wilf moved to Vancouver for work. A demo tape of his singing Country and Western tunes resulted in his being picked up by Jim Reeves and signed to a record label. He entertained in Las Vegas under his new stage name of Johnny Cross but ran into hard times. Straightening things out, he lived near Palm Springs CA entertaining for all kinds of events and making a living.
Johnny very much valued the support that the Sapper and Airborne Families had given him and was generous in his donations to the Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack Historical Society {khJul2016}
