Mae (Downtain) Conway
Roberta “Berta”
Mae (Downtain) Conway
Roberta “Berta” Mae (Downtain) Conway was born June 11, 1934, and passed away November 29, 2022, in Durango, CO. She was 88 years old.
Born in Durango, Berta’s parents were Florence “Flora” (Anesi) Downtain and Wilfred “Fats” Downtain. She was very close to both of her parents and referred to her father as, “my hero.”
Berta and her brother Mark and many of their beloved cousins grew up in the Benson Hotel in Silverton, CO. The Benson Hotel was a boarding house for miners that worked out of Silverton and Telluride and was owned and operated by the Anesi family (Frank Baldesari and Luigia Oberoster Anesi). Berta spoke humorously of the never-ending list of chores her mother had for her on a daily basis at the Benson, which kept her from hiking the beautiful mountains surrounding Silverton as she often wanted to do.
She loved Silverton, she loved the mountains, and she dearly loved her extended family whom she grew up with.
Upon graduation from Silverton high school, Berta attended the University of Colorado in Denver, where she obtained her bachelor of science degree in nursing.
In addition to obtaining her degree, she made many lifetime friends and her career in nursing extended for well over thirty years. Much of her career was spent working at the hospital in Cortez, CO, now known as the Southwest Health System.
After obtaining her degree, Berta met and married Cyril Kohl Conway of Durango on November 8, 1958. Having lost his first wife (Waydene Folsom) to cancer, Cyril had five young children to care for. Thus, Berta became an instant mother. Three more children were later added to the family for a total of eight. After a number of different job assignments and relocations, the family settled in Mancos, CO, where Cyril served as Superintendent of schools. Two weeks after their youngest child was born, Cyril was killed in a plane crash along with three other businessmen from the area. Berta sought legal custody of the five older children at that time to keep the family together. With significant assistance from the Mancos community in addition to her own family and Cyril’s mother, Mary Kohl Conway of Durango, Berta raised the children in Mancos. She was forever grateful to her loving family and the community of Mancos for their gracious and unwavering support through this very difficult time. The greatest gift our mother ever gave us was keeping us all together.
We cannot imagine what our lives would have been like without one another.
Berta was a strong, engaging, smart, and wise woman with an infectious laugh. She was an active member of the Mancos community, having served on the school board and in St. Rita’s Catholic Church.
After raising her family in Mancos, Berta moved to Cortez, where she spent the last 40 years of her life. A passionate reader and lover of books and learning, she worked part-time during much of her retirement years at the Cortez Public Library. Inspired by the mountains, she was an avid hiker throughout her retired years and enjoyed traveling abroad.
In addition to her brother Mark Downtain, Berta is survived by her eight children, Sherry Hall (Bill), Cathy Conway, Greg Conway (Sherri), Ron Conway (Lynn), Sandy Andricci, Shaun Conway (Kerri), Lisa Eason (Mike Mc-Neal) and Lori Wizman. She is also survived by thirteen grandchildren and twenty- two great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life for Berta will be scheduled for the summer of 2023 in the mountains of Southwest Colorado. She always said she would never want to live anywhere else but near the mountains.
