72, of Linthicum, Maryland, USA, passed from this life on Monday, June 16, 2025. He leaves behind his wife of forty-four years, Mary M. Bladey (née Cornell); daughter Margaret C. and husband Elijah Diefenbach of Toledo, OH; younger sister Laura J. Waters of Davidsonville, MD; and younger brother Stephen A. of Middletown, MD.
Friends, family, and the community will remember Conrad as one of the most colorful, interesting, intelligent - yet exasperating - people they will likely ever know. He was an anthropologist, artist, writer, teacher, and performer. He was also that energetic six-foot tall, overall-wearing Santa-esque legend in his art car that we saw regularly on the streets of Baltimore. Conrad was living proof that artistic expression is most authentic when it surprises, delights, and awakens those who experience it. His scholarly expertise ranged widely, from Guy Fawkes and the history of bonfire societies in the early United States to early English folk music, through Irish culture, to the life of John Newton, writer of 'Amazing Grace'. It also included how to properly affix Barbie heads to a 1969 Pontiac.
Conrad's first brush with history was in London as a volunteer on a rescue dig of a Roman bath in 1967. His interest in the past was supported by his parents who, while living in London and Munich, led the family camping throughout Britain and the Continent at every opportunity. Conrad was educated at University of Maryland and Durham University (UK) with graduate work at University of Tennessee.
Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Visitation- 9:30-10:45, Gonce Funeral Service; Funeral Service- 11:30, Zion City of Baltimore Church; Graveside Service- 1:00, Loudon Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers it is requested that you wear a funny hat in public and make people smile. Donations to The Michael J. Fox Foundation. www.michaeljfox.org