South Hadley man dies while trekking in India

By CAITLIN ASHWORTH

@kate_ashworth

Published: 04-27-2017 1:17 PM

SOUTH HADLEY — A 67-year-old South Hadley man whose sister said had an adventurous streak died unexpectedly in India this week while trekking a popular trail in India.

“He enjoyed life to the fullest,” said June Greener by phone from her home in Arizona Wednesday night. “Unfortunately, he had his last adventure.”

On Tuesday, Glenn Bernard Conway, a retired Holyoke Public School District teacher, died while trekking the famous Sandakphu-Phalut route in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India, the Hindustan Times reported. High-altitude sickness is believed to be the cause of death, though the paper reported that he may have had a heart attack.

The Sandakphu-Phalut trekking routes are in the Singalila National Park. The highest altitudes are between 11,000 and 12,000 feet.

Conway was in a group of 19 Americans trekking 21 kilometers from Maneybhanjyang to Darjeeling town, the Indian news outlet reported. The area where Conway died is only accessible by foot and there is no connection to a mobile network, the Hindustan Times said.

Conway was a science teacher in Holyoke for 34 years. When he retired in 2009, Greener said, he began traveling, something he was unable to do much when he was teaching.

Greener describes her brother as adventurous and outdoorsy with a good sense of humor.

“He was just so well liked,” Greener said.

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Conway loved kayaking and hiking, his sister said. Greener said he would travel to Reno, Nevada, to play in cribbage tournaments and loved to spend time at Cape Cod.

Greener reflected on a time when Conway came to visit her and they took a trip to the Grand Canyon.

“He loved being surrounded by family and friends,” Greener said.

She said he was excited about going to India. About a week before his death, Conway posted a picture of himself and a hiking group with the Taj Mahal in the background. Greener said he planned on making another trip to South America.

Greener said the call about Conway’s sudden death came as a shock. But she wasn’t given much information on how it happened, just that it was possibly a heart attack, she said.

Conway’s body will be cremated in India and his remains will be transported back to Massachusetts, Greener said.

In the next two weeks, memorial service arrangements will be made by the Barry J. Farrell Funeral Home in Holyoke. His ashes will be buried in Forestdale Cemetery in Holyoke, Greener said.

Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.

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