Margaret "Peggy" Hynes was the "rock" of her very large family.
"We all thought we were her favorite," said sister Julie Lococo of Atlanta. "But her heart was big enough for everyone. We lost the best. She was the kind of person you wanted as a sibling or a friend."
Ms. Hynes, of Atlanta, died Sept. 12 -- her 68th birthday- after an illness.
Ms. Hynes, one of a dozen children, was born in Texas and grew up in Buckhead. She graduated from Christ the King School, St. Pius X High School and Georgia State University, where she majored in English literature.
Her dream was to get involved in international activities and improve the lives of others.
When the United States was embroiled in a war in Vietnam, Ms. Hynes saw an opportunity to help the troops.
"Peggy was a great American and decided this was where she would give," said another sister, Helen Pharr, also of Atlanta. She said their mother taught all the girls in the family that they could do anything they put their minds to.
Ms. Hynes took that advice to heart. She worked for the American Red Cross and the U.S. Department of the Army as a civilian. She did two tours in Vietnam then went to Germany.
"She could have certainly bided her time, stayed here in the United States and been perfectly happy but she didn't," said David Hynes, a brother who lives in Marietta. "She went over there to make a difference in people's lives."
Pharr thinks Vietnam changed Ms. Hynes.
"I think it made her want to live moment to moment and person to person," she said. "And that really was her gift. When you were with Peggy, you were with her. She wasn't doing the dishes. She wasn't tapping her foot. She didn't make you feel like you were intruding. She was totally in the present."
Ms. Hynes' world crashed around her, however, in 1983 when a brother, Stephen, was murdered during a robbery. Two men were arrested and charged with the crime. The prosecutor in one of the high-profile trials was legal commentator and television personality, Nancy Grace, according to an article previously in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Frustration over the judicial system, led Ms. Hynes to co-found the non-profit organization "Stop Parole of Violent Criminals", or STOPAR, which helped push for changes in Georgia statutes pertaining to the parole of violent offenders.
Ms. Hynes continued to focus on her family and extended network of friends, which spanned the globe. She loved to work in the garden and was interested in photography. In addition, two of her biggest passions were animals and nature.
If any of her siblings moved or went out of town, Ms. Hynes would frequently end up keeping their pets.
Ms. Hynes, a retired business manager, loved to travel and spent time in Europe and Asia. She was an avid writer and reader.
"She knew that life goes one but your time is what you make it," said Pharr.
She is survived by siblings David Hynes of Marietta, Frank Hynes of Gainesville, Ga., Paul Hynes of Atlanta, Joseph Hynes of Atlanta, Catherine Hynes of Carmel Valley, Calif., Frances Reifler of Winston-Salem, N.C., Helen Pharr of Atlanta, Laura Keller of New York, and Julie Lococo of Atlanta. She is also survived by numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews and other relatives.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Patterson Spring Hill. Internment will at 1 p.m. Saturday at Magnolia Cemetery, 702 3rd St. in Augusta. Donations may be made in Ms. Hynes' name to St. Pius X Catholic High School library, 2674 Johnson Road N.E.
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