Conrad Eugene Baldwin, age 72, of Greenville, Illinois, passed away in Caseyville, Thursday, June 12, 2025. The family will celebrate him with a visitation at 1:00 p.m. and a service at 2:00 p.m., August 16, 2025, at the Donnell-Wiegand Funeral Home in Greenville, interment to follow at Noffsinger Cemetery in Pleasant Mound. Memorials may be made to Noffsinger Cemetery or the Greenville AMVETS Post 140, c/o Commander Lynn Craig, 813 E. Oak St., Greenville, Illinois, 62246.
Born in Vandalia, August 15, 1952, to Hobart E. and Evelyn V. (née Wheatley) Baldwin, Conrad attended elementary school at Inglis in Greenville. He graduated from Greenville High School in 1970. After graduation, he followed his older brothers to work at Greenville’s Phillips 66 gas station and later followed them to work at K&L Truckstop in Troy.
When Conrad’s number came up in the draft, he enlisted in the Army. His stellar test scores and interest in technology earned the opportunity to work Stateside in computer science. He served from 1972 to 1975, finishing with a year in Ramstein, Germany, on a special project—the first-ever portable computer, an IBM Mainframe that travelled in a 30-foot trailer. Conrad, known for his dry sense of humor, said the machine was guaranteed to work, except when moved. In fact, it did not work when assembled the first time, before it had a chance to move. While others discussed how to communicate this disappointment to superiors and IBM, Conrad tweaked the set up, got the machine running, and edited the installation manual to prevent the same failure from happening again.
Employers often asked Conrad to do the impossible, and he generally succeeded. While still in the military, his superiors asked him to cut time from the 14 days required to finish month-end processing. He redesigned the program, shrinking run time to just 14 hours, for which he earned a commendation from General Alexander Haig, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces Europe.
After military service, Conrad returned to Greenville, working for the road department. Wrestling the snowplow convinced him to return to Kaskaskia College to continue studying computers. He earned an associate’s degree in applied science in 1979 and later worked 27 years in information systems at BlueCross BlueShield of Missouri before “retiring” to serve as a Mainframe consultant to various businesses.
A gifted pool player and avid collector of Asian-themed art, Conrad enjoyed woodworking, building and tinkering with computers, and spending time with his family. He read voraciously, especially science fiction and technology books. He often provided components or built computers for family members and needy families in the community.
Conrad was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Lenora Lee (in infancy) and Janice; a sister-in-law Joan (Gerald Baldwin); a brother-in-law Michael Hazelip (Diana); and two infant sons of his sister Joyce Kimbro (Gary), Clayton Vance and Loren Todd. He is survived by six siblings, Francis W. Baldwin (Roberta), Joyce M. Kimbro (Gary), Carmen B. Trenton (Ted), Katy J. Wise (Howard), Gerald E. Baldwin (Stephanie Carpenter), and Diana B. Hazelip; a nephew and three nieces, Frank Baldwin, Elizabeth B. Sargis (Mark), Amy B. Workman, and Kimberly J. King; nine great nieces and nephews; and ten great-great nieces and nephews.
Conrad was quiet, until you got him going, when his quick wit and sense of fun livened any gathering. Though wicked smart, he was approachable, reliable, caring and always helping to solve computer problems for colleagues, friends and family. His family will miss his gentle presence and generous, thoughtful and creative gifts.