INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Edward Joseph Conlin Jr., 98, part of the family that founded Top 100 retailer Conlin’s Furniture, died here on March 27.
Born Feb. 14, 1924, in Williston, N.D., to Edward and Elizabeth Conlin, Conlin worked in the family furniture store while growing up. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and served in the U.S. Army in Korea.
After his service, Ed returned to Williston and became chief salesman for the family business, stuffing the trunk of his 1949 Buick convertible with carpet and furniture samples that he would sell door-to-door throughout North Dakota and Montana. Through that he met his future wife, Joan Prevost, whose parents were building a new home in Sidney, Mont. He made the sale and, three months later, gained a wife, marrying Joan in 1953.
Ed and Joan moved to Bismarck, N.D., in 1955 to open another Conlin’s Furniture location and had six children. Along with his three brothers, the family opened more locations throughout North Dakota.
In 1975, Conlin hired a longtime family friend, Paul Gunville, to help manage the Conlin’s Furniture Co. The pair developed a new business model using central distribution centers to expand the furniture company into more locations throughout North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Minnesota. Today, the company has 15 retail stores.
Conlin is survived by his wife, six children, 12 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, two brothers and a sister. He was predeceased by a grandson, brother and sister.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made in his honor to the Missouri Valley Family YMCA or the Heartview Foundation.
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April 08, 2022 at 03:00AM
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Furniture retail veteran Ed Conlin dies at 98 - Furniture Today
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