Sorry to hear, much too young.

Just this past weekend re-read some of his All-Star Comics work. Like others here, he was writing Spider-Man when arrived on the scene, also enjoyed that oh so short stint on the Avengers.

Prolific

I sold Gerry an old detective pulp through eBay many years ago. I noticed his name and that he was then in Los Angeles, and asked if he was the same Gerry Conway who wrote for Marvel and DC. He wrote back, "yep, thanks for remembering."

Interestingly enough, I probably have Gerry Conway to thank (in part) for reigniting and solidifying my love of comics after about a 12- or 13- year dormant period, after I'd sold-off or given away most of my collection...

I had wandered into a LCS (on a lark) around 2007 and stumbled upon MARVEL TALES #114 in the back issue bin.  A wave of nostalgia came crashing down on me, because both that issue and #113 (reprints, written by Mr. Conway) were 2 of my all-time favorite Spider-Man stories from my youth, which I'd read over & over & over again:

 

I realized then and there how much I'd missed my old childhood comic book collection (1976-83) and set out that day to try and find all the old issues I used to own from that period.

Got hooked on comics all over again (for the most part--sometimes money is too tight!), and never really looked back.

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For all Stan Lee’s skill in matching superheroic action with the day to day soap opera of Peter Parker and his friends, during his final months on ASM it’s obvious his attention was elsewhere as his EiC duties overtook his writing.

Gerry Conway reintroduced the novelty, excitement and twists of Spider-Man at his best, making good use of existing villains such as the Green Goblin and the Vulture, and supplying the feature with viable new characters. Man-Wolf, the Punisher, the Jackal, and Hammerhead.

He was also greatly assisted by having Gil Kane and the underrated Ross Andru as artists on the book.

What was also good throughout was Gerry Conway’s handling of the soap opera plots. He was more persuasive about how college students spoke and behaved, and Peter Parker’s life is credibly reorganised, but Conway also has an excellent handle on the irascible J. Jonah Jameson.