John Conroy, 68, sits down at the piano bench in the Serving Seniors dining room and launches into “Mr. Sandman,” then segues immediately into Grieg’s “Piano Concerto in A” followed by Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” concluding with “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from the musical Gypsy. It was not a formal performance. It is simply what John Conroy does effortlessly and with passion every day. Being at Serving Seniors, he says, is like a second home. “It makes you feel like you have a family.”
Just over three years ago, Conroy was sleeping outside in Balboa Park with nowhere to go and no idea what came next. Today, he has a place to live, and he has a purpose — to help other unhoused seniors. He shares his musical gift with hospitals, churches, and the San Diego seniors who have become his family.
Conroy’s story begins in Japan where he was born and left at a Roman Catholic orphanage. When he was seven months old, he was adopted by an Irish American military family. He grew up in Santee, and at age 11 his grandmother — a private piano teacher who gave lessons all over San Diego County — taught him to read music. In high school, he practiced up to 16 hours a day, dreaming of Carnegie Hall. His grandmother’s guiding philosophy stayed with him: have a wide repertoire. “Wherever you go in life,” she told him, “it’s important to be open to different types of music.”
Lunch guests in the dining room at the Serving Senior Center in San Diego enjoy the music performed by John Conroy. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
After a few years washing dishes, Conroy landed a job at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in environmental services when he was 21. He stayed for 34 years — becoming a union shop steward, an organizer, and the man who played the grand piano in the physical rehab unit on his breaks and after his shift. He left his job at the age of 55 when he says a difficult supervisor and declining health made staying dangerous. “I had to think: what’s more important, my health and living longer, or killing myself in a job that was becoming so stressful?” he said. He lived on his 401(k), moved through a series of shared houses and got by.
Then, in 2022, the house in Normal Heights where he had lived with roommates for six years was caught up in a probate dispute. Police arrived at the door and informed all the tenants that they had to leave. Conroy found himself loading his belongings into a car with no destination in mind. “Not everyone has family they can go to,” he said simply. He did not.
He spent five months at Father Joe’s Villages, a shelter he describes as “scary.” He says his items were stolen constantly — food, clothes, chargers, tablets, even a beanie right off his head as he slept. He was physically threatened. As a gay man, he faced targeted hostility. Eventually, he made the decision to leave, sleeping instead in hidden spots in Balboa Park and spending occasional nights at the apartment of a friend he had helped get housed through another program.
“I had to put my life in God’s hands,” he said. He describes leaving the shelter as a walk of faith.
John Conroy plays the piano for guests at Serving Seniors. He grew up in Santee, and at age 11, his grandmother taught him to read music. He’s been playing ever since. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A friend at NAMI — the National Alliance on Mental Illness — eventually told him about Serving Seniors, the San Diego nonprofit that provides meals, services and housing support for low-income older adults. Conroy got on the waiting list. He waited 5 1/2 months. On Feb. 13, 2023 — the day before Valentine’s Day, a date he remembers with precision — he got into transitional housing downtown. The caseworker guided him through the process. By July 3 of that year, he had moved into a permanent room at the same location, paying $850 a month, utilities included. Conroy lives on Social Security of about $2,600 and says he has learned to budget carefully, eating most of his meals at Serving Seniors or Father Joe’s, where he attends therapy sessions regularly.
Conroy’s days are full. Since 2019, he has volunteered at Sharp Coronado Hospital, playing the lobby piano and performing for patients in the rehabilitation unit. He plays at churches, including a Presbyterian congregation in downtown San Diego, and he launched a YouTube channel, Agent99PianoMan.
He also sits on an advisory committee of people with lived homeless experience for the Lucky Duck Foundation, a San Diego nonprofit focused on addressing homelessness. He serves as a mentor — going out into the community, sitting with unhoused people, listening to them, and connecting them to resources. “You can’t give resources to the homeless until you’ve really gotten to know them personally,” he said. He has helped several women get into an emergency shelter within 72 hours.
What got him through the hard times? He laughs. “My Irish resilience,” he says — a nod to his adoptive parents — “and the piano.”
Serving Seniors provides meals, housing navigation, and wraparound services for low-income older adults in San Diego.
I’m interested in writing a column about seniors who start a business. If you have a story that you’d like to share, please email me at bbry@blackbirdv.com.