Thomas Davidson Conrad

The world lost a great man this week.  Dr. Thomas Davidson Conrad went home to be with the Lord on September 3rd, 2023.  He was 92 years old.   As an economist, investment manager, retired military officer, helicopter pilot, jet pilot, farmer, cattleman, and patriot, Tom was one-of-a-kind.

Born in 1930 in Pittsburgh, PA, Tom was the son of Thomas Davidson Conrad and Mabel McCollin Conrad. Tom graduated from the Ohio Military Institute and went on to join the US Army.  He earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Maryland and obtained his Doctorate from American University with a concentration in Economics, Investment Analysis and Corporate Finance.  In 1982 Tom completed Harvard University’s program for Senior Managers in Government.

Tom’s early career in finance included a focus on insurance and investments.  In the 1950s and 1960s, he founded Military Benefit Association and Government Employees Association, where both organizations were pioneers in offering low-cost group life insurance to its members.  Tom served as an instructor at the University of Maryland, the American Institute of Banking, the American Savings & Loan Institute, Montgomery College, and the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, covering such topics as money management, economics, investments, and financial institutions.

One of Tom’s many passions was flying.  He was a graduate of the Army Aviation School and went on to fly fixed and rotary wing aircraft for the Army National Guard.  Tom held a commercial pilot’s license and accumulated over 5,000 flying hours.  He continued his passion for the skies in the early ‘80s when he served in President Reagan’s Administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force.

Despite Tom’s lifelong passion for finance and investments, he deviated from his career in the 1970s to raise horses and his children on a farm in Bird-in-Hand, PA.  Ultimately, he developed one of the most prominent Simmental cow/calf operations in the eastern United States, while his children learned to milk cows, herd cattle and bale hay.

It is safe to say that Tom’s greatest passion was his family.  With them, he traveled the world, including, crisscrossing North America, Eastern and Western Europe, The Middle East, New Zealand, South America and The Far East.  Skiing well into his 80s, the family ski trips were a must-attend annual event.  He taught his children and many of his grandchildren the art of ski jumping, skiing powder and skiing in the trees.  When not skiing, Tom took advantage of his pilot’s license to shuttle the family off to the Bahamas to enjoy whatever holiday was imminent. Family tennis tournaments and camping trips filled his leisure time.  No night ever came to an end without competitive board or card games.  Tom also loved motorcycles, whether that meant cruising through the Blue Ridge Mountains with Joan on the back or playing capture-the-flag atop a motorcycle on deserted Caribbean islands with whichever brave family members or friends were up to the challenge.

Tom’s legacy will live on through the impact he had on so many people.  In addition to many cherished friends, Tom leaves behind his loving wife of 71 years, Joan Conrad, their five children: Christine Laird and her husband Warren, Thomas Conrad, III and his wife Tracy, Dale Conrad, Janell Rhee and her husband Dean, and Stuart Conrad and his wife Erin.  Tom also leaves behind 17 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren, with more on the way.

The family will be holding private services and interment in Roswell, Georgia.

Scott Huskins Funeral & Cremation Services is in charge of the arrangements. 678.771.5566 | scotthuskins.com

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