For 20 years Peggy Bynum was a patients representative at Northside Hospital, with the difficult job of soothing pain-wracked patients and their worried family and friends.
Mrs. Bynum had a talent of listening with empathy and dispelling fears, said her daughter, Paige Girardot of Atlanta.
One of those patients was Raffaele Genovesi of Roswell, brought into Northside's emergency facility after having been injured seriously in a 1980 auto accident.
"Peggy was like an angel of mercy," he said. "I suffered a compound fracture of my arm and a deep puncture wound to my leg and required surgery. She visited me several times a day and was so comforting and inspirational. She brought me through the darkest time of my life."
"Even after Raffaele was released from the hospital, Peggy continued to stay in touch with us, totally understanding his anxieties and helping him to overcome them. We have been good friends ever since," said his wife, Sonia Genovesi.
Margaret Ward Vanneman Bynum, 81, died Monday at her Atlanta residence of Parkinson's disease complications. Her funeral will be 2 p.m. Saturday at the Cathedral of St. Philip. H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill Chapel, is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in her memory to the Margaret V. Bynum Scholarship Fund at Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Ave., Decatur GA 30030.
Born and reared in Baltimore, Mrs. Bynum was a New England prep school student when she had a chance meeting with an Oglethorpe University student named Gordon Bynum while she was visiting Atlanta. Their relationship blossomed into a 60-year marriage.
Marriage led to a 25-year pause in her academic career. She and her husband had three children, and she stayed home with them until they went off to college. At that point she worked for a few years as a teachers assistant at the Heiskell School in Buckhead.
"We've had many teachers over the years, but Peggy stands out," said the school's founder, Miriam Heiskell of Atlanta. "While she didn't have the training to be a full-time teacher, she was so good at it that she quickly became a substitute when we needed someone to fill in."
Dr. Clara McClellan of Marietta, mother of a former Heiskell pupil, said she learned that her 3-year-old daughter Allison had a developmental deficiency and was not fitting in at another preschool, so she took her to the Heiskell School, where she met Mrs. Bynum.
"Peggy gave Allison tests and offered to tutor her several times a week. She had high expectations of her pupils, and they sensed she cared deeply about them and strived to meet her standards," she said.
"Over time Peggy taught Allison to focus and to read, and also taught her manners. Peggy had a way of being firm, but with kindness and gentleness. And long after Allison moved on to other schools, Peggy would call her on holidays and maintain the bond."
"Peggy and I were close friends these last 43 years and saw each other or talked on the phone practically every day," Dr. McClellan said. "She could be a perfectionist and quite candid, yet very diplomatic. For instance, she could tell you that something you were wearing was totally wrong for you but in a way that you wouldn't take offense."
In 1975 Mrs. Bynum decided to complete her schooling, taking advantage of a "Return to College" program at Agnes Scott. At first, she took just a course or two per semester, but eventually she took full course loads and earned degrees in social work and religion, training that she put to good use at Northside Hospital.
In 1999 the Bynums' son, Gordon Bynum Jr., was killed during what appeared to be a holdup attempt as he walked across the footbridge leading away from MARTA's Lenox Square station. In 2005 a suspect in the case was tried and acquitted by a Fulton County jury, but when the judge polled the jury, one juror changed her verdict to guilty. The judge immediately ruled a mistrial, but the Fulton prosecutor's office has not yet retried the case.
Also surviving are her husband, Gordon C. Bynum; another daughter, Clyse Defoor of Atlanta; and four grandchildren.
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