Lawrence Colbar Conarroe

1887 - 1966  (78 years)

• Name	Lawrence Colbar Conarroe
  	Nov. 13, 1966 Obituary EDITOR CONARROE'S DAD SUCCUMBS TO ILLNESS SATURDAY Lawrence Colbar C. Conarroe, 78, of Calhan, passed away Saturday morning, November 12, in a Colorado Springs Hospital. He was born December 31, 1887 in Hamilton, Ohio, the son of Will and Alice Conarroe. He came to Colorado in 1898 and homesteaded with his parents at Fondis. He was united in marriage December 23, 1912, to Grace Allen in Elbert. After residing at Elbert until 1921, the Lawrence Conarroe family moved to a farm southeast of Calhan. They left the farm in 1927 and moved to Calhan where Mr. Conarroe accepted a job with the El Paso County Road Dept. He worked there for 35 straight years, never missing a day because of illness. He retired in 1962. He was one of the most avid baseball fans in the region and enjoyed recalling the "great days" of the Highland, Holtwood and Elbert baseball teams, back when the fall tournaments were exciting events. He had been in falling health for about the past year, and death came after his condition worsened the last 10 days. Survivors include his wife, Grace Conarroe, of Calhan; one son, Percy of Louisville, Colorado, two daughters, Mrs. Shirleen Banuelos of Colorado Springs and Mrs. Olive Hummel of Willamina, Oregon; 11 grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. Funeral services were conducted Wednesday at 11:00 A. M. at the Chapel of Me modes in Colorado Springs, the Rev. James Thuirer officiating. Burial was in Calhan Cemetery. Pall bearers were Ellis Gaddy, Odes Mitchell, Joe McFarlin, Charlie Doven Jr., Bill Parks and Leonard Hoffman. Honorary bearers were Arch Gaddy, Dutch Poyner, Tex Parker, Cliff Casey, Ray DeWitt and Morris Currier.
  Born	31 Dec 1887	Hamilton, OH
  Gender	Male
  Died	12 Nov 1966	Colorado Springs, CO
  Buried	16 Nov 1966	Calhan, CO
  Person ID	I3	Conarroe
  Last Modified	2 Jun 2018

  
  

  Father	William Barnhill Conarroe,   b. 3 Aug 1851, Elkton, Preble County, OH ,   d. 7 Jun 1907, Alma, Kansa  (Age 55 years)
  Mother	Alice Jane Wing,   b. 8 Mar 1858, Indiana
  Married	1 Apr 1880	Preble County, OH
  Family ID	F3	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Grace Allen,   b. 18 Jul 1893, Hastings, NE ,   d. 22 May 1971, Simla, CO  (Age 77 years)
  Married	23 Dec 1912	Elbert, CO
  Children	+ 1. Olive Conarroe,   b. 18 Nov 1913, Elbert, CO ,   d. 11 Dec 2007, Sheridan, OR  (Age 94 years)  [Birth] + 2. Shirleen Conarroe,   b. Sept 18, 1922, Calhan, CO ,   d. Oct 2010, Colorado Springs, CO  (Age 88 years)  [Birth] + 3. Percy Allen Conarroe,   b. 3 Mar 1927, Denver, CO ,   d. 15 Jun 2013, Louisville, CO  (Age 86 years)
  Last Modified	1 May 2018
  Family ID	F2	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Lawrence Colbar Conarroe

  
  

• Notes

  Douglas County News Dec. 9, 1965 By Lawrence Conarroe These were the days of the homesteaders and the horse and buggy, when telephones operated on barbed wire fences. The brick store building (in Fondis) which recently appeared in the Pike View Farmer was built in 1902 out of hand fired brick which was made by McFarlin and Keever (McFarlin was the father of Roy at Fondis). Tom Harper built the store which he occupied as a general store for a number of years. This was not the first store in Fondis. The Dockums (cousins of Conarroes) built a frame building which still stands north of the brick one and is occupied by Steve Tripp. The building also housed the last post office run by Mary Tripp. According to history Tom Harper sold out to Jude Geiger; then Geiger sold to out to Howards. From Howards it passed to Charlie Rolls; Rolls was held up, robbed and killed while operating the store. This store has a history of another early robbery, but no one was hurt. In 1898 the William Conarroes, who came from Hamilton, Ohio, homesteaded the 160 acres join gin Fondis on the south. These were the parents of the writer (Lawrence Conarroe). In 1901 the Fondis Hotel and cheese factory were built. The Conarroes purchased the hotel in 1904. They had 12 to 15 boarders. The new post office was built across the street from the hotel and Ella Cox, cousin of Conarroe, was the first postmaster. Then came the church and the drug store building. This old church is now a community hall. Adam Speck and George Conarroe were rural mail carriers out of Fondis. There were two blacksmith shops, and a telephone from the brick store by barbed wire fence to Calhan. The schools were Union Valley, one mile east, and the other was Bijou School. two miles west of Fondis, both teaching the full eight grades. The population of Fondis was 40 people, besides the boarders in the hotel. Most of the buildings are gone now, except a few old landmarks. There is no post office and it ceases to be on the map. Time changes everything. Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Bender live on 87 acres of well improved land bordering Fondis where the old cheese factory still stands. They have an irrigation system and raise all kinds of fine vegetables and many trees, including 570 trees used as windbreak. Clarence Bender has lived near and around Fondis since 1903, in former years he ran a statewide truck line for 25 years. he donated the ground for a new Baptist Church in Fondis which was built in 1955. Mr. and Mrs. Bob Fuchs now own the old brick store building. The robbers, two men, who held up the store and shot Charlie Rolls, were soon apprehended and taken barehanded by Deputy Dave Bruce of Calhan. They were jailed, tried and sentenced to life. One died while in the penitentiary, the other was paroled. Written by request by Lawrence C. Conarroe, age 79 years.