William Conway – Founder of DialAmerica Passes Away 3/12/2009

William J. Conway, August, 27, 1917 — March 12, 2009

William J. Conway, a pioneering leader of the telemarketing industry, died of natural causes at age 91 on March 12, 2009.  He was born on August 27, 1917 in Rockland County, NY and grew up in Hackensack, NJ, graduating from Hackensack High School, where he was captain of the tennis team.

He attended Dartmouth College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in mathematics and subsequently earned an MBA from Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School of Business Administration.

During WWII William served as an engineer and meteorologist in Guantanamo Bay. Upon his honorable discharge, he began a career at Time Inc., where he earned the position of Worldwide Circulation Director of Life Magazine, a prestigious responsibility in his day.

While at Time Inc., William founded two companies. The first was American Family Publishers (AFP), a major stamp sheet agent co-owned by Time Inc. and the Pritzger family in Chicago, IL.  AFP provided hundreds of millions of subscribers to the magazine industry throughout its lifetime. The second was DialAmerica, a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc. that William started and later purchased, transforming the business into a growing privately held company. Today, DialAmerica, headquartered in Mahwah NJ, continues as a highly respected privately held family business — one of the largest telemarketing companies in the nation.

William was the beloved husband of the late Virginia (nee Washburn) and devoted father of Arthur Conway of Franklin Lakes, Anne Conway of Mahwah and the late William J. Conway, Jr. He was the loving grandfather of Frank, Christopher, Thomas, Carolyn, Colleen and Kathleen and great-grandfather of seven.  He was the dear brother of Harry Conway of Michigan and the late Robert Conway.

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