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Connaughton
Margaret Hooper
Connaughton - Southport
Margaret
Connaughton was born Margaret Jane Hooper on July 3,
1916 in Salisbury, NC, the youngest of nine children of
Edward H. and Mildred G. Hooper. The family moved to
Lexington, NC around 1921, where she graduated from high
school and worked in the public library. She met Mark P.
Connaughton [“Connie”] on St. Patrick’s Day 1941 and
they married on September 12 that same year in
Salisbury, NC. They lived in the Washington DC area
(Silver Spring MD) until 1947 when they moved to
Arlington, VA, where they made their home until 1972.
She was the mother of four children: oldest is Ann
Felker of Arlington, VA; Mark P. Connaughton Jr. of
Portland, OR; Michael E. Connaughton of Minneapolis, MN;
and Patrick J. Connaughton, who resides in Southport.
She also has 10 grandchildren and 15 great
grandchildren, residing in California, Virginia, New
York, Georgia, Minnesota, and Japan.
In June of 1972 Margaret and Connie, along with Patrick,
moved to Southport on his retirement from government
service in the Army Corps of Engineers. She immediately
joined the Southport Woman’s Club and the Woodbine
Garden Club and continued an extraordinary range of
civic and organizational work such as she had engaged in
for thirty years in Northern Virginia.
Margaret served several years as Woman’s Club president,
2nd vice president, public affairs chairman, chaplain,
international affairs chairman, and publicity chairman.
She has participated in numerous Club activities such
as: Heritage House, Holiday House, and has served as
Arts Festival Chairman, in which she was especially
active in awarding The Sallie Southall Cotten
Scholarship to eligible South Brunswick High School
seniors.
For many years she served as chairman of the Board of
Governors of the Southport Community Building (until it
burned down), a joint endeavor between the Southport
Woman’s Club and the Southport Lion’s Club.
Other volunteer interests included: The North Carolina
4th of July Festival, serving as Finance and Publicity
Chairman. In 1972, she and Eileen Sunder were
co-organizers of the present Dosher Hospital Volunteers.
Margaret served as president, during which time she
helped start the juice cart and was instrumental in
getting TV’s in all patient rooms. She also helped start
the Dosher flee market and helped it expand four times,
with the last move being to the old Hood building on
Moore St. When not serving as president she also worked
as a volunteer at Dosher for many years. She was the
Crusade Chairman for the Cancer Drive in East Brunswick
County from 1977 to 1980.
Margaret’s real love was gardening, and she held
numerous offices, including serving as president of the
Woodbine Garden Club. She has planted trees, flowers,
maintained library grounds, hospital grounds, and
nursing home grounds and helped to beautify many areas
of Southport and surrounding towns, including the
Historical Brunswick Town site.
Margaret’s civic activities began early in life, as a
young lady she was a Girl Scout leader, Sunday school
teacher, and sang in the Baptist Church choir. Her early
employment in the Davidson County Library carried
forward to her great interest and effective work with
the Brunswick County Library system, especially the
Margaret and James M Harper Library in Southport. She
served as chairperson and as a member of the Brunswick
County Library Board, and was active in the Southport
Oak Island Friends of the Library.
Margaret was very active in the Sacred Heart Catholic
Church, serving as Sunday School Coordinator and
teacher, Altar Society President, Parish Council member,
and served on the Deanery and Diocesan Social Services
Boards. She was also instrumental in getting the
Interfaith Church group started and served on the
group’s early board.
In recent years, she focused her energies on
establishing the Brunswick Adult Medical Clinic, which
she served as Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer,
Publicity and Grants writer. She served on the
organizational boards of this clinic, and the New Hope
Clinic of Southport. Both organizations provide free
care for the working poor.
Margaret lived 65 of her 96 years in North Carolina,
with the last four decades being spent in Southport,
watching and helping it grow. She died on February 10
after a seven-month illness.
The funeral mass will be held at 12:00 noon on Friday,
March 15, 2013 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with
Reverend Trent Watts officiating.
Peacock-Newnam
& White Funeral and Cremation Service, Southport