Henry James Conaty, Jr.
Click the button below to make a donation in memory of Henry James Conaty, Jr.
Published in April 2026
DIGHTON- Henry “Hank” James Conaty, Jr., 68, passed away on April 3, 2026, peacefully at home surrounded by his family. He was the loving husband of Sandy S. (Leroux) Conaty, with whom he shared 44 years of marriage.
Hank was born in Fall River and was the son of the late Henry J. Conaty and Lorraine F. (Foley) Conaty.
Hank was a graduate of Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School and Brown University, where he was a member of the Delta Tau fraternity. Hank took great pride in his 33-year career at Acushnet Company. Early on, he was involved in research that would ultimately lead to the development of the Pro V1 golf ball. Throughout the course of his career, he led the startup and later expansion of Ball Plant 2, played a key leadership role in bringing Ball Plant 1 and Ball Plant 3 together as one team, and retired as Senior Director of Advanced Engineering for Golf Ball Operations. Even after retiring in 2017, his connection to Acushnet remained strong, as he continued to share his knowledge and enthusiasm as a tour guide and part-time consultant. In both his professional and personal leadership roles, he is remembered as a people-first leader with the ability to bring a team together.
Hank led an active lifestyle and was always on the move. He enjoyed spending time outdoors with his family – skiing, camping, kayaking, cycling, hiking, and boating. He was the person others turned to when something needed fixing and always had a project list going. Hank made many wonderful memories with his family traveling the country, camping at Horseneck Beach and South Arm, Maine, skiing every winter at Waterville Valley, NH, and taking multiple family trips to Disney World. He also enjoyed several multi-day cycling fundraisers and trips from Massachusetts to Waterville Valley, NH with others crazy enough to join him. Hank was a former president of Dighton Youth Soccer and was very involved in coaching his children’s sports teams and then attending his grandchildren’s activities. Most of all, Hank loved to have fun, had an incredibly quick wit, and never let living with ALS define who he was.
In addition to his wife, Hank is survived by his children Kristin Giles and her husband Doug of North Dighton, Amy Madeiras and her husband Ben of Dighton, and Matt Conaty and his wife Kelly Rose of North Dighton; grandchildren Riley, Casey, JJ, Rosie, James, Bella, and one on the way; siblings Carol Lehmann and her husband Tom of Westbrook, CT, and John Conaty and his husband John Gunderson of Jersey City, NJ; and several nieces and nephews. He was the brother of the late Tim Conaty.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend a time of visitation on Monday, April 13, 2026 from 4-7pm in the Crapo-Hathaway Funeral Home, 350 Somerset Ave., Taunton.
His Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, April 14th at 10am in St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring St., North Dighton.
Those in attendance are asked to proceed directly to the church and arrive no later than 9:45am
Burial will follow in the St. Francis Cemetery, Glebe St., Taunton.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Hank’s memory to Compassionate Care ALS of Falmouth, who were instrumental in enabling Hank to continue his active lifestyle, https://ccals.org