Jane Carney Conaway

Jane Carney Conaway, 80, of Natick, Massachusetts, passed away from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease surrounded by her loving family on September 20, 2025.  

Born on February 23rd, 1945, in Boston, Massachusetts to Thomas Joseph Carney and Genevieve Donelan Carney, Jane grew up on 22 Edgemont Street in Roslindale in a bustling household of six children, surrounded by the love of grandparents and countless aunts, uncles and cousins.  As a member of her proud Irish Catholic family, Jane was very involved in the Holy Name Parish, and she marched in the Holy Name Band as a majorette, where she was known for her baton-twirling skills.  

Jane graduated from St. Gregory’s High School in Dorchester in 1962.  She went on to attend Emmanuel College, where she majored in French and studied elementary education.  Jane loved to throw a French phrase into any conversation, and her favorite expression was à chacun son goût, which means “to each his own.”  

In 1964, Jane’s cousin Matty brought one of his roommates over for Sunday dinner at the Carney family home.  Matty’s roommate was Pat Conaway, a California boy, and Pat fell hard for Matty’s beautiful cousin Jane–the French teacher who was the life of every family party, banging out Irish songs on the upright piano in the front hall of 22 Edgemont while the family sang along.  Jane and Pat married at Holy Name Church in 1968.  Their first child Brett was born in 1970, and they moved to Natick in 1972, where they went on to have two more children, Miriam and Carlton.

Jane was the ultimate mother–always playing piano and singing, making Halloween costumes, and cooking nutritious meals.  When her children were old enough to attend school, she went back to work as a preschool teacher at the First Congregational Church in Natick.  With a group of similarly creative friends, she opened a store in Natick called Olde Towne Crafters and was part of an artist’s collective called Plum Pudding that hosted a holiday craft fair each year.   

Friends were a huge part of Jane’s life.  With a dynamic group of women, she established a book club, an annual cookie swap, and the Sweet Gherkins–a group of friends who she enjoyed hosting on Friday afternoons for tea.  A lifelong musician, Jane loved singing and performing with her friends and some family members in Sound and Spirit, an intergenerational chorus in Natick, where she was an original member.

Like the young children she taught, Jane was always learning and growing.  She worked as a kindergarten teacher at the Metrowest YMCA in Framingham while earning her Master’s Degree in Education from Cambridge College in 1998.  She spent the last twelve years of her career teaching multilingual learners in the Framingham Public Schools, where she was known for building community through her work in planning all-school assemblies called Gatherings.

But her greatest passion was always family: her beloved siblings and their families, her husband Pat, their three children and daughter-in-law, and her five grandchildren.  Jane loved being Grandma, and she spent endless hours caring for her grandchildren and most of all, reading to them.  She was their biggest fan at every game and performance, and she showed up no matter how inconvenient the location or how unpleasant the weather.  

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Pat Conaway, daughter Miriam Conaway, son Carlton Conaway, daughter-in-law Rhonda Conaway, grandchildren Richard Conaway-Reid (Graeme), Patrick Conaway (Paige), and Matthew, Genevieve, and Bowen Morrison, and her siblings Thomas Carney (Diane), Miriam Hopkins, Martin Carney, and Elizabeth O’Neill (Billy), her twenty-one nieces and nephews, and in-laws, cousins, and many, many friends. Jane was preceded in death by her son Brett Conaway, sister Ursula Langfeldt, brother-in-law John Langfeldt, brother-in-law Mark Hopkins, and sister-in-law Betty Carney.

Visiting hours will be held on Saturday, October 18th at the family’s home at 11 Pumpkin Pine Road, Natick from 12:00 pm through 2:00 pm, immediately followed by a Celebration of Life service. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Home Base Veteran and Family Care: Donate | Home Base

For online guestbook, please visit: www.everettfuneral.com

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