Margaret Gunther's Obituary
Margaret “Peggy” Rush Gunther, 87, died Monday, August 20, 2012. Peggy was born in Memphis, November 25, 1924, to Dorothy and Paul Rush, and graduated from Miss Hutchinson’s School and Georgetown Visitation Junior College in Washington, D.C.. As a young woman, Peggy studied ballet with Diana Day, Lisa Gardner, and Edith Royal, and acted in productions of the Little Theater (later, Theater Memphis). She remained an ardent supporter of the arts throughout her life, donating generously to Ballet Memphis and regularly attending performances of Theater Memphis and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.Peggy loved to entertain, and never required much coaxing to recite a poem or impersonate Tallulah Bankhead. She was a voracious learner and was devoted to service. Peggy volunteered as a nurse’s aid in World War II, and was especially proud of her membership in the Memphis chapter of the Panel of American Women, a collective effort to combat racial and religious discrimination in the years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. A member of St. Peter Catholic Church and Guild, she served as president of the Madonna Circle, the Cenacle Retreat League, and the Mothers’ Clubs of St. Agnes Academy and St. Dominic School. She was also a member of the Junior League, Dillettantes Club,Les Passes, the Ubpics, and the Memphis Country Club, where she played tennis until the last year of her life. She enjoyed gardening, bird-watching, and pilates, and was rarely without a golden retriever at her side.Peggy was a devoted friend, wife, mother, and grandmother. She married Harry Boyd Gunther, a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Navy, in 1945. When Harry was diagnosed with scleroderma a few years before his death in 1998, Peggy cared for him with strength, love, and determination. Throughout their 53 year marriage, Harry and Peggy were an adventurous pair who camped, hunted quail, and travelled together across the globe. Most years, they were the oldest participants in the Bluff City Canoe Club’s annual Mississsippi River Canoe and Kayak race. They are survived by their children, George Paul Gunther (Robert Richmond), Dorothy Gunther Pugh (Robert Livingston Pugh), and Harry Rush Gunther (Cindy Whayne Gunther); by four grandchildren, Elise Pugh Lauterbach (Preston Lauterbach), Megan Pugh (Eliot Rose), John Julius Gunther (Amanda Hobbs Gunther), and Harriet Rush Gunther; and by her great-grandchildren, Margaret Grace Lauterbach, Isaac Saxton Lauterbach, and Olivia Violet Lauterbach.A visitation will be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home (5668 Poplar Avenue, 901-767-8930) on Tuesday, August 21, from 5 to 7 p.m. Funeral services are at 1:00 pm Wednesday, August 22, at St. Peter Catholic Church (190 Adams Ave., Memphis, 38103; 901-527-8282), followed by interment at Memorial Park.The family request memorial donations may be made to Ballet Memphis (7950 Trinity Road, Memphis, 38018, 901-737-7322), Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis (1779 Kirby Parkway #1, Box 319Memphis, 38138), and St. Peter Catholic Church.
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