Joe Convery, known as “Mr. C.” to the luckiest school bus riders in the Hartland Consolidated Schools District, died Friday. He retired from his post-retirement job at the end of this past school year after 17 years behind the wheel.
“If you like kids, there’s probably no better part-time job in the world,” he said about it.
While I didn’t ride on Joe’s bus, I am one of the many who count themselves lucky to have known him.
There are these special kinds of people we sometimes are lucky enough to meet as we go through life: people as interested in others as they are themselves interesting. That’s Joe, who was, hands down, one of the friendliest, most charming and most positive people I’ve ever met.
On top of that, Joe was lots of fun. He had a keen mind and so many interests and talents — he especially loved sailing and golf — and a sense of humor worthy of his distinctive laugh. He also absolutely loved people; he was a connector, one of those people who make friends wherever they go.
Most of all, Joe was a wonderful family man. You didn’t need to ask what he was most proud of in his life because it was always so obvious. He cherished his wife, Pat: they had been married for 56 years, and had three really cool, wonderful children, and nine grandchildren.
I am grateful that I got to know him.
You can read the story about his retiring from bus driving here, and you can read his obituary here.
