FRANK CONKEY / 1914-2003
Giant heart dwarfed
his physical size
Frank Conkey was a slight man -- friends describe the transplant from Minnesota as just a smidgen over 5 feet tall and all of 100 pounds.
COURTESY PHOTO
Frank Conkey helped put on the annual Hawaii Career and College Fair for high school students for 28 of its 29 years.
But they also say Conkey, who had been active in a number of Hawaii organizations since he moved here in the 1970s, including spokesman for the Better Business Bureau for more than a decade, had a booming voice from a radio career in his early years, a demanding presence and a massive fervor for helping others.
"He was very giving," said longtime friend Nancy Ahn, of Honolulu. "If somebody needed something, he would damn well find out who, what and where."
Conkey died Wednesday of a heart attack at the Aloha Nursing and Rehab Centre, where he was recovering from an injured knee. He was 89.
Before coming to Hawaii, Conkey was on a popular 1930s Chicago radio show, "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy," wrote flight-training manuals at the Pentagon as a captain in the Air Force during World War II and served as a Scout leader and director with the Boy Scouts of America.
In 1970, Conkey visited the islands with his mother, "got a very nice liking" of the state and moved here the same year, said his younger brother, Warren. In the mid-1970s, Conkey took a position as spokesman for the Better Business Bureau, alerting residents of scams and business fraud through the local media.
Later, Conkey became a key figure in the annual Hawaii Career and College Fair for the state's high school students. He helped put on the fair for 28 of its 29 years, until this year, said Chaminade University of Honolulu professor emeritus and former fair president Bill Murray.
"He was just a super individual," Murray said. "He's the type of guy who never met a stranger. He got to know everybody right away. ... I've lost a tremendous friend."
Conkey was also an active member in the Honolulu Press Club, and a number of his friends recounted his portrayal of "Rambo," with a belt of machine gun bullets crisscrossed on his skinny torso, in one of the club's annual Gridiron shows.
"I remember Frank as being very creative and communicating with all natures of people -- children, adults, older people. He would inspire," said his youngest brother, David.
"I'm an engineer, and I didn't think about how to relate to people, but Frank did," he said.
In addition to his work, Conkey was an avid hiker and naturalist. Into his 80s, Conkey was leading walking tours for Lyon Arboretum, said Warren Conkey. He also started a horticulture program for high school students, taking them into the foothills to teach them plant names and the unique terrain.
Services are pending for Conkey, who is survived by his two brothers.
