Margaret "Peg" Frances Hares' Obituary
Margaret “Peg” Frances “nee Holloway” O’Connor Hares of Gainesville, FL passed away on Friday March 14, 2025, surrounded by her loving family at the age of 85. She was born on April 15, 1939, in North Adams, MA to parents William James Holloway and Margaret Mary “Horan” Holloway, the eldest of 8 children. Peg had a lifelong love of the Arts including music, singing, painting, literature, photography and the English language. She won the Bishop Wright Scholarship in 1953 to attend the prestigious private Notre Dame Academy, a Catholic all girls high school in Worcester, MA. She then graduated from Classical High School in Worcester, MA in 1957. She attended Regis College and then met Gerald P. O'Connor, while attending Clark University, married in 1959. She had three children with Gerald, Margaret “Peggy” O’Connor Owens, Kathleen O’Connor Kohlbrand and Matthew Sean O’Connor.
In 1969, Peg and her children moved to Memphis, TN, where she attended Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1973. Peg then became a teacher and taught in the Hernando, MS public school system prior to moving back to Worcester, MA in 1976. Upon returning, Peg went back to school and obtained a Respiratory Therapy Certification from Quinsigamond Community College in 1977.
Peg worked at Doctor’s Hospital in Worcester, MA as a Respiratory Therapist and then transitioned to the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1978 working there until 1991. During her time at UMass, she furthered her education, by attending Worcester State College, obtaining her master’s degree in Adult Education because of her deep love for training and educating others.
In 1991, Peg relocated to Spokane, WA and worked at several local hospitals in the area. While there, she reconnected with Edwin Hares, whom she had met while living in Memphis. They eventually married in 2000 and settled in Atoka, TN where they lived until 2005. Upon retirement, Peg and Ed purchased a property in Mountain View, AR in need of extensive renovation. The two of them worked together as a team rebuilding and expanding the property. It was their labor of love. Peg and Ed also loved to travel. They went on several cruises together as well as rock hunting trips and camped throughout the US in their RV.
While living in Mountain View, AR, they became active members of the community including St. Mary’s Catholic Church and Peg became a member of the Mountain View Art Guild and volunteered often at the Mountain View Folk Center. She loved living in the Ozarks and maintained the friendships she made there until her passing.
Upon the death of her husband, Edwin Hares in 2019, Peg relocated to Olive Branch, MS to live closer to her daughter and son in law, Peggy and Ashley Owens. She then relocated to Gainesville, FL in 2021 to remain close to her daughter and son-in-law and became active within the Gainesville community. She settled at The Links Condominiums in Haile Village and joined Queen of Peace Catholic Church where she sang in the Choir, especially at many funerals. She was a member of the church book club, card club, lunch group and maintained a very busy social calendar.
Peg made many friends wherever she lived. She was known amongst her friends and family to be a selfless, caring and fiercely independent person. She was an avid reader, sometimes completing a novel in just two days, a lover of game shows such as Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. She also enjoyed medical and crime dramas such as NCIS, Blue Bloods, Law and Order, Matlock and Elsbeth. She loved the ocean and spent many summers on the Rhode Island, Cape Cod and New Hampshire coasts. She would take long walks on the beach after reading a good book followed by a lobster dinner. Peg had a love for animals and owned several dogs throughout her life and had a special place in her heart for her grand dogs, Lucy Lue Owens, Bowie Bear and Guinness Brown-Flaiz.
Peg is survived by three siblings, Mary Jane Loewenberg of Potomac, MD, John “Jack” Holloway of Louisville, KY and Kathleen Brotherton of Little Rock, AR. She leaves behind all of her three children, Margaret “Peggy” Owens and her husband Ashley of High Springs, FL, Kathleen Kohlbrand and her husband Ronald of Merritt Island, FL and Matthew S. O’Connor of Memphis, TN. She also leaves behind six stepchildren. Four grandchildren including Christopher Brown and his husband Grant Flaiz of Stratford, CT, Megan Palafox and her wife Vanessa of Naperville, IL, Scott and Seth Kohlbrand of Florida. She also leaves behind three great-grandchildren, Antonio Palafox, Edwin Palafox and Vida Mae Palafox of Naperville, IL. She leaves behind a cherished sister-in-law, Eileen P. O’Connor and partner Cheryl Martunas of Fitchburg, MA and Wells, ME as well as her sister-in-law, Marilyn O’Connor of Dudley, MA. She also leaves several nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass will be held on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.at Queen of Peace Catholic Church 10900 W.W 24tth Ave. Gainesville, Fl. with Fr. Alberto Esposito as celebrant. Interment will be held in St. Mary Catholic Church Cemetery 17068 Highway 66 West Mountain View, AR. 72560.
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