Roan Conrad: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice Bismarck Tribune, The (ND) - Wednesday, October 17, 2012 Deceased Name: Roan Conrad Roan Conrad, 72, New York, N.Y., passed away Oct. 13, 2012. Memorial services will be held Saturday, Oct. 20, in New York City and at a later date in Bismarck. His remains will be interred at Mandan Union Cemetery. Roan was born June 2, 1940, the son of Gaylord and Abigail Roan Conrad of Bismarck. His grandparents, E. J. and Helen Conrad, became his guardians after the deaths of his parents in an automobile accident in 1953. Roan was also a grandson of Dr. M. W. and Abigail Roan. Dr. Roan was medical chief of staff of St. Alexius hospital. For part of his high school years, Roan lived with the Wendell Smith family in Basel, Switzerland. Smith was a geologist who helped develop the Williston Basin. Roan was active in scouting and received his Eagle Scout in 1955. He was the first Sunday school student at the Bismarck-Mandan Unitarian Church in 1952. Roan had major interests in his life other than his work: foreign postage stamps, opera and sports. His stamp collection covered some 40 years of Scandinavian, Icelandic and European stamps. Opera was another great love. He attended more than 2,000 operatic performances and more than 1,000 different operas in 23 countries over 50 years. He kept programs, librettos and newspaper reviews of each performance. His collection has been donated to the Library of Congress. He was also a dedicated New York Mets fan and soccer enthusiast. Roan served as the director of the Office of Sustainable Development and Intergovernmental Affairs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Before joining NOAA, Conrad pursued a varied career in journalism and management. During 14 years with NBC News in New York City, he supervised national political and election night coverage, assignments that took him to virtually every state. Conrad was also associate producer for two major NBC News documentaries on the Reagan administration. Earlier, Conrad was managing editor of the Morning Pioneer, a daily newspaper. He also served as president of the North Dakota Associated Press. In the early 1970s, Conrad was the founding managing editor of Corrections Magazine, a publication concerned with prison reform, funded by the American Bar Association. Conrad began his journalism career in Washington in 1966, as a reporter and editor for the widely respected Congressional Quarterly. In 1969, he was a founding editor of National Journal, an award-winning weekly magazine devoted to the world of Washington policy-making and politics. As an editorial and public affairs consultant, Conrad completed assignments for The Ford Foundation, the Environmental Law Institute, the Municipal Arts Society of New York and all the major television networks. He was a participant in many public policy conferences and seminars at institutions such as Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government, The Brookings Institution, and the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. Roan was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University. He held a masters degree in history from Harvard, where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. Roan is survived by his brothers, Dean (Pat) and U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad (Lucy); his nieces, Shannon and Jessamyn Conrad; his nephew, Ryan Conrad; his aunt, Joyce Conrad; and many cousins. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial contributions be made to Opera America. Page: 7A Copyright, 2012, The Bismarck Tribune
Posted on: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 10:45:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015