One day, Margaret Conner brought home a dog for her son Owen.
But Patrick, an Irish setter, became her dog, not his. He'd been a show dog, so Mrs. Conner let him do what he did best. She entered him in local dog shows as well as competitions across the Southeast.
Soon, Douglas, a West Highland terrier, joined the family. He also joined Patrick on the circuit.
"She showed them both," said her son Thomas Conner IIIof Atlanta. "She and my brother would travel around, and my father and I would be left at home. She did it five or six years, enough to be confident in the ring. She enjoyed it."
In notes for her obituary, Mrs. Conner had wanted to mention that she'd had a total of 15 dogs. She'd take in Irish setters and West Highland terriers even after she stopped competing in dog shows.
Last year, the Tennesee native was diagnosed with scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that affects the skin and organs. On Thursday, Margaret Bowden "Peggy" Conner died from complications of the disease at her home in Atlanta. She was 83.
A graveside service was held Saturday at Westview Cemetery. A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. March 2 at Northside United Methodist Church. The memorial is being held at a later date because Dr. Gil Watson, a family friend and pastor of Northside who is out of the country, plans to preside over the service. H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Conner was born in Chattanooga but raised in Knoxville. She wanted to live in a big city, and in 1949 she moved to Atlanta. Two years later, she married Thomas Conner Jr.,who was in dental school. They made Atlanta home.
Mrs. Conner was a ball of energy, always doing something. When she stopped showing dogs, she studied oil painting under Georgia-born artist Henry Barnes. She took to it.
"She was good at it," her son said, "especially for someone who picked it up in her 40s. She donated several paintings to the Shepherd Spinal Center, and her home is decorated with several paintings."
Mrs. Conner belonged to the Atlanta Junior League, the Piedmont Garden Club, the High Museum and the Shepherd Spinal Center Auxiliary.
Her son Owen B. Conner died in 2007.
Additional survivors include her husband of nearly 60 years, Dr. Thomas Conner Jr.of Atlanta.
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