.

.

 

MARGARET CONNER: Sailing Toward Renewal

 

When Margaret Conner wanted to escape the chaos of everyday life, she fled her home in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and headed for her daughter's boat on Candlewood Lake in Brookfield, Conn. It did not matter that Mrs. Conner was prone to seasickness and could not swim. Sailing on the lake brought her peace and tranquillity.

Back home, Mrs. Conner, 57, was the gatekeeper at Cantor Fitzgerald, a receptionist who was the first person people saw when they got off the elevator on the 103rd Floor of 1 World Trade Center. For many young women at the office, she was a relationship therapist.

"She was just very open and very eager to be there for anyone," said her daughter, Corrine Bounty.

Mrs. Conner and her husband, Frank Conner, were married for 13 years and spent nearly every moment of their free time together, often frequenting Broadway plays and dining out. Every day they recorded and watched Mrs. Conner's favorite soap opera, "The Young and the Restless."

Mrs. Conner was also committed to her daily Bible study. On Sept. 11 her study passage was about the healing and renewal of God.

"I read this passage the next day and was furious with God," Mr. Conner said. "After rereading the passage, I realized that God had fulfilled his message to her. She is now in a place where His ever-renewing life is coursing throughout her body."

.

From "Profiles in Grief" of The New York Times