OBITUARY John Conheeney March 29, 1929 – October 8, 2018 On October 8th 2018, John Conheeney, age 89, passed away peacefully while surrounded by his family. John was the beloved son of the late Thomas and Agnes Conheeney, and brother of the late Rita Conheeney. He was predeceased by his wife of 45 years, Jean Conheeney.
John is survived by his beloved wife of 22 years, Mary Higgins Clark, his children and their spouses, John and Debbie Conheeney, Barbara Conheeney, Patricia Conheeney and Michelle DeWitt, Nancy and David Tarleton; and his devoted grandchildren, Lauren, Megan, Kelly, Johnny, and the late Michael Conheeney, Robert Lanzara and his fiancée Rosie DeRosa, and the late Ashley Lanzara; and Oliver Conheeney, and David, Courtney, Thomas, and Liam Tarleton. Also survived by his great granddaughter Sienna Lanzara and by Rosie’s daughter, Juliana Holmes. John is also survived by his dear stepchildren and spouses, Marilyn Clark, Warren and Sharon Clark, David Clark, Carol Clark, and Patricia Clark, and by his step grandchildren and their spouses, Elizabeth Clark and Lauren Pomerantz, Andrew and Taylor Clark, Courtney and James Morrison, David Clark, Justin Clark, and Jerry Derenzo, and his step great grandson Will Clark.
John graduated from St. Cecilia’s High School in Englewood, NJ where he proudly played football under Coach Vince Lombardi. He graduated from Manhattan College and received an MBA from Tulane University. John was the retired CEO and Chairman of Merrill Lynch Futures.
During his 35 years there, he helped form the Futures Industry Association (FIA). He was instrumental in the formation of the National Futures Association (NFA) where he served as chairman from 1990 to 1994. From 1996 to 2005, John served on the board of the New York Mercantile Exchange as a public director.
Earlier in his career, he was a board member of the Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the NY Commodities Exchange. John met Mary on St. Patrick’s Day in 1996 and both of them knew right away that they were always going to be together. They married a few months later.
John took enormous pride in Mary’s achievements as an author and loved accompanying her on book tours across the country and abroad. Mary expressed her gratitude and deep love for John as her “spouse extraordinaire” in the dedications of every one of her books since they met. They were inseparable and enjoyed their large combined families in Saddle River, Spring Lake and Cape Cod.
They were also faithful Giants football fans and attended many home games as guests of the Mara family. John was a devoted father and grandfather and always cared deeply about everything they did. He took great joy in participating in the lives of his grandchildren.
He attended all of their school and sporting events, and could be seen regularly having breakfast with them at the Daily Treat in Ridgewood. To his colleagues, he was a gentle giant, and to all of those who knew and loved him, he was a man of great warmth, generosity, wit and dignity. He was greatly loved and forever will be missed.
Arrangements through the Becker Funeral Home in Westwood, NJ. Hours of visitation are 3-9 pm, on Thursday, October 11th. Funeral Mass at St. Gabriel’s Church in Saddle River on Friday at 11 am.
Interment following the Mass at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, in Hawthorne, New York. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in John’s name to Calvary Hospital, Bronx, NY.
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