Conrad W. Michel

Conrad William “Conny” Michel, a lifelong resident of Hyde Park, died Monday, July 15, 2013 at the Ellis Nursing Home in Norwood.  He was 80.  Conny was born June 27, 1933 in the house where he lived his entire life, the only child of William and Catherine T. (O’Connell) Michel.  He was a graduate of Hyde Park High School and Lawrence Academy, and he attended Boston University before being inducted into the US Army where he served his country for two years during the Korean War.  Conny worked as a pressman-printer for the Christian Science Publishing Company in Boston for 35 years until his retirement in 1995.  He was very involved in Masons as a member of  Phoenix Lodge AF & AM of Hanover and Eliot-Hyde Park Lodge AF & AM (now Celestial Lodge) of Westwood.  He was also affiliated with St. John’s Lodge of Boston, and was a member of the Boston Commandery and of the Aleppo Temple Shrine of Wilmington.  Conny was a former Cub Scout Leader of Pack Nine, which met at the Greenwood School, and a commissioner of Hyde Park Youth Hockey during the late 1970’s.  He was also an active member of the churches in his life, serving as a deacon at both the Wentworth Congregational Church in Wentworth, New Hampshire and the Hyde Park Congregational Church in Hyde Park, MA.  He is presently a member at the Roslindale Congregational Church in Roslindale, MA.  He enjoyed singing in all the church choirs.  In addition he built stone walls and was an accomplished gardener.  Conny was a board member of the Baker River Valley Snowmobile Club in Wentworth, NH and enjoyed skiing while spending 29 years at his chalet in Rumney, NH.  He loved summer camping in the eastern United States and Canada, and , in later years, travel in Europe, Alaska, and Costa Rica.  he was an all-around “Mr. Fix-it” for the neighborhood.  He kept the bird feeders full, and loved to try new landscape plants around both his homes.  Conny is survived by his wife, Joan (Kennard); his daughter Robin Lee Motyka, and her husband Paul S., of Walpole; his three sons, Kurt W., and his wife Patricia, of Mansfield, Derek K., and his wife Robyn, of Hyde Park, and Brett M. Michel of Hyde Park; as well as his eight grandchildren, Scott, Mikaela, Brandon, Kyle, Konner, Stephanie, Lily, and Cara.  Visiting hours will be held Thursday, July 18th from 4 to 8 PM with a Masonic Service by Celestial Lodge AF & AM at 7 o clock, at the Folsom Funeral Home, 649 High Street (Route 109), Westwood.  Relatives and friends are invited to attend his funeral Friday at 11 AM at the funeral home.  Interment will be private.  In lieu of flowers donations to the Alzheimer’s Association would be appreciated.