Claude Brunson Conyers, Jr.

Claude Brunson Conyers Jr. Obituary by Sonny Conyers Claude was born on Tuesday morning, June 19, 1934. He was born at ten till twelve at his family home in Cartersville, GA on Etowah Drive. He died on April 19, 2019 at his apartment home in Charleston South Carolina from complications with diabetes. He is preceded in death by his father Claude Brunson Conyers, his mother Rachel Stephens Conyers, and his brother John Leak Conyers. He is survived by his niece Hope Conyers, and nephew Johnny Conyers. There is a funny story surrounding Claude’s birth. You see his older brother was named John Leak Conyers after their paternal grandfather. The story goes that when John was born in 1922, he was to be named Claude Jr. At that time, whilst Rach was delivering John, grandmother “Minnie” Leak Conyers filled out the birth certificate as John Leak Conyers after her father (John Simmons Leak) against the wishes of Rach and Claude Sr. Rach vowed to never call John by that name, and instead called him “Sonny” for all of her life. With the birth of Claude, she now had the opportunity to have her Claude Junior! His older brother John, who Claude would affectionately call “Bruh” was twelve years his elder. Claude’s parents were excited to welcome the new addition to the family. Claude took his first steps at 11 months old. From then on, there was no stopping him. I believe from all accounts, Claude had a happy childhood. The only exception being that he lost his father at the age of only 2 years old. Since his older brother John was 14 at that time, he became the “man of the house”, and looked after Claude lovingly along with his mother Rach and nurse Frankie. Claude’s friends describe him as self-assured and comfortable in his own skin. He was not egotistical. If someone gave him a compliment, he would brush it aside and continue with the conversation. Claude attended grammar school, junior high, and high school all in the Cartersville public school system. He was adored by most of his classmates. In his yearbook, classmates left him notes stating what a trusted friend he was to them. They felt they could confide in Claude, which tells me he was an excellent listener and confidant. He graduated from Cartersville High School in 1952. After high school, Claude attended Vanderbilt University where he graduated with his bachelors degree in just four years. He earned a degree in English Literature and Spanish Language. After graduating from college, Claude entered the military where he served in the navy from 1956 to 1958. He became a Lieutenant in the Fifth Naval District Intelligence Office as a naval intelligence officer. Those two years in the military were spent in Virginia. Claude had a love for the arts and especially for dance. Following his military tour, he moved to New York. There he began dancing professionally. He travelled to Connecticut as an “imported male dancer” where he met lifelong friend Judith Karstens. She recalls on their first meeting, she and Claude were to perform a lift. The intention was for Claude to “lift” Judith onto his shoulders. As Judith tells me, she jumped and Claude lifted, resulting in her going completely over his head before Claude caught her by her feet. There she dangled, and they both laughed about this for years to come. She recalls him as a wonderful dancer with beautiful lines, legs and feet. Claude went on to dance all over the world. During his time as a professional dancer, he met friends like Ted Merwood dancing in the South African Ballet Company (PACT Ballet). They danced together in Johannesburg and several other cities. From the pictures I have seen in Claude’s collection, I truly believe he was happiest when he danced. He met so many loving friends along the way, and he kept in touch with many over the years. Later, Claude found his calling as an editor and publisher. He began a long career in publishing beginning in 1960 as Senior Editor, Special Project Section, College Book Editorial-Production Department in New Jersey. In 1967 he took an Editorial Director position at Greystone Press in New York City. This was followed by several other Senior Editor positions in 1975 and culminated in a Vice President and Editorial Director role in 1988 for the Scholarly and Professional Reference Division of Oxford University Press in New York City. He held this position for over ten years until he started his own proprietorship in 2000 called Hillbrow Publishing Services. Over the course of his publishing career, Claude published or assisted in publishing countless works, certainly too many to list. Claude did enjoy good food. He had files of recipes that he had collected from all around the world. He corresponded with friends about his favorite dishes and received their favorites in return. From this collection from family and friends, he authored and published one of my favorite cook books called, “A Miscellany for Cooks: Tantalizing Recipes from My Southern Family and Friends from Faraway Places”. He published this during his retirement years in 2016. I cherish this work because he tells stories of family in it. Several of the recipes listed are from family members I once knew as a child. I enjoyed reading about our family history in the book. I especially enjoyed reading about my family from his perspective, and seeing those I knew in a different light. I confess that I intended to create the Brunswick Stew recipe in the book, but as soon as my wife saw squirrel/rabbit in the ingredient mixture, the book was promptly closed. Growing up on a farm, I guess there were plenty of squirrels and rabbits for stew! Although my wife and I now live in the home Claude was born in, the city has encroached around us and the farm Claude knew as a child is no more. One other major change is that all the recipes cooked here now include chicken, turkey, or beef. There are definitely no squirrels on the menu anymore! Although Claude did have an exceptional career in publishing, his love for dance never ceased. In his retirement, Claude was a member of the Board of Directors for The George Balanchine Foundation. This foundation was located at the Lincoln Center in New York City. It was a research initiative devoted to the European musical revues, Broadway shows, and Hollywood films choreographed by George Balanchine from 1999 to 2005. Claude also was a member of the Society of Dance History Scholars from 1999 to 2009. There he had a conference presentation on “Katherine Dunham and the Movies” at the annual conference at Northwestern University in 2005. I almost forgot to mention cats! Claude loved furry, four-legged company. He had many over the years. He had a picture with the slogan, “I work hard so my cats can have a better life!” Sohpie and Daisy were two of his first cats that enjoyed that better life Claude worked so hard for in his 2nd avenue New York City flat. When I visited Claude at his home he called Hillbrow, he had an orange cat named Buster. As I went through his effects in Charleston, I see that Caroline had a nice life there too. She had a cat condo on the screened porch taller than the bushes so that she could enjoy the “Lowcountry” breeze. Claude not only enjoyed his own pets, he enjoyed his friends pets also. He frequently shared photos of his cats with friends over email as they shared pictures of their furry family members with him in return. If I had a regret concerning my great uncle Claude, it is that I never got to know him better. Those that did know him during his life tell me he was a truly wonderful person. He was intelligent, erudite, confident, and loyal. He made true friendships, though they were not numerous. Some may say he valued quality over quantity. I have learned more about my great uncle over the past few days and weeks than I ever knew before. What I have learned makes me wish that I had known him better while he was here. We never lived close enough for regular visits, and he stopped returning to Georgia for visits after his brother (my grandfather) fell ill with Alzheimer’s. I did get the chance once to visit him in New York at Hillbrow during my travels, and I do cherish those memories. If you knew Claude during his life and he called you friend, be thankful. You are the few he deemed worthy of such a friendship. You are the “quality” people he found to be worthwhile. He will surely be missed.