Bob Conlon never asked for glory. He wasn’t the type of guy who took the bows while everyone else did the work. He was quite the opposite, actually.
“He just did his thing and was happy to do it,” said his older brother, Bartley, the former director at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute. “That’s the kind of person he was.”
Robert F. Conlon, who died earlier this month, was more than a simple certified public accountant.
“He was so much more than a guy who did taxes,” said attorney James Carrigan, who leased office space to Conlon’s accounting firm, RFC Financial Services. “He was a strong man, and a real community leader.
“And he was a dedicated family man,” Carrigan said. “He loved his family.”
Conlon’s “thing,” or “things,” actually, were vital community endeavors such as the Boys & Girls Club, the Lynn Business Partnership and the Harry Agganis scholarship foundation.
“He was at the Boys Club a lot,” said his brother. “More than I. He loved it.”
And the club loved him back. As an adult, Conlon became a member of the Board of Directors, and was later elected to the Hall of Fame. At the Boys and Girls Club’s Hall of Fame induction, the children get the steaks while the adults get the hamburgers. And Conlon’s childhood friend,Bob Gaudet, who for years owned and ran the Porthole Restaurant, supplied the food.
Lynn realtor Gordon Hall said that Conlon’s presence with the Lynn Business Partnership gave the fledgling organization some real gravitas when it was first established in the early 1990s.
“We needed an accountant,” said Hall. “And he was the accountant right up until he died. He was a constant presence.”
Hall, like others who spoke of Conlon, stressed his quiet nature.
“But he had a little bit of a sense of humor,” Hall said. “The partnership (in its early days) never had any money , and he could make light of that.
“He gave us a lot of legitimacy,” Hall said. “At the time the partnership was founded, things were economically very bleak in the city. He was an established guy and he gave us some heft. And he really helped draw people into the partnership.”
Of course, Carrigan said, “he was the quintessential loyal Lynner, he was good to everyone, and he really stepped up for local charities.”
Conlon ran track at Bentley University, “and did quite well,” his brother said. But beyond that, he didn’t play much sports. Still, he lent his expertise and enthusiasm to the Saugus Little League and the town’s youth basketball program when his daughter, Deanna, was involved in athletics.
But his most notable contribution to the area’s sports landscape was his involvement with the Harry Agganis Foundation, where he did the books for at least 15 years before stepping down two years ago, said Paul Halloran, executive director of the Agganis Classics — the weeklong festival of athletic events that celebrate the legacy of the finest athlete in Lynn’s history.
The Agganis Foundation funds scholarships for deserving student-athletes on the North Shore and in Boston. Established upon Agganis’ untimely death in 1955, the foundation has, to date, awarded $2,334,000 in grants to 1,040 student-athletes.
“He was kind of an under-the-radar guy,” Halloran said. “But he got a lot done. He never sought any limelight. He was a soft-spoken guy, and a tremendous family man.”
Halloran said that if there was an Agganis athletic event, or foundation function; Conlon would be there, early, bringing in money and tickets, “and he was always the last one out of there at night.”
Conlon’s brother said that the wake, held Sunday night at Solimine Funeral Home on Broadway in Lynn, was a testament to the impact he had on people.
“He always wanted to help whoever he could,” Bart Conlon said. “And the wake was quite a tribute to him. It was supposed to go from 4 to 8 p.m., but Solimine opened the doors at 3:30. And it was really heartwarming to see the nurses from Compass, the rehabilitation facility he was at, come in. That was really nice.”
Conlon also leaves his wife, JoAnn, his son, Robert F. Conlon Jr.; and a sister, Judith McGuinness.
Conlon was the type of community volunteer you do not see very often today, Halloran said.
“They don’t grow on trees,” he said. “I would see him quite a lot, not only at Agganis time, but at other events too. It was always a pleasant conversion whenever we met. He was just a real gentleman. That’s the best word to describe him.”
