Margaret M. Conant, Educator And Artist, 91

[DGH]

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Margaret M. Conant, supervisor of child study programs in the Prince
George's County [Maryland] schools and president of the Potomac
Craftsman's Guild, died of pneumonia March 5, 2004, at Faulkner
Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, with cancer, at the age of
91.

Mrs. Conant was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She received a
bachelor's degree from Smith College and a master's degree and
doctorate in guidance and personnel administration at Columbia
University. She was assistant to the dean of women at Iowa State
Teachers College before moving to Prince George's County in 1942. She
and her husband, who was chief surgeon at Glenn Dale Hospital, raised
their family on the tuberculosis hospital's campus.

Mrs. Conant was coordinator and supervisor of child study programs in
Prince George's public schools. She helped to create early education
programs for disadvantaged parents. She produced a series of
pamphlets, "Bridgings," that provided tips for parents on encouraging
children to excel. She also planned and conducted parent-teacher
training programs in problem-solving.

"One father asked us, 'What's the use of talking to a child if he
can't understand?'" she told a Washington Post reporter in 1977. "We
told him it's important for the child to learn the rhythms of speech
and the patterns of speech, and then he can start talking himself."

She served as president of the Prince George's County Council of PTAs
and second vice president for training of the Maryland Congress of
Parents and Teachers, and she served on an advisory committee for the
Maryland Board of Education to review policies and programs.

Mrs. Conant also was a member of the League of Women Voters, and her
work with the League introduced her to county politicians who
encouraged her to run for the state legislature, which she did in
1956. Although not elected, she called it a tremendous learning
experience, "both funny and serious."

Mrs. Conant served as vice president of the Mental Health Association
of Prince George's County and as mental health chairman for the
Maryland Congress of Parents and Teachers. She served on a committee
of the Prince George's County Health and Welfare Council that studied
the mental health of children living away from home. In addition, she
was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Mental Health Study
Center, a National Institute of Mental Health agency in Prince
George's that advised churches, schools and neighborhood groups.

She retired from education in 1976 and began a career in weaving. She
became membership chairman and subsequently president of the Potomac
Craftsman's Guild, and also served as chairman of the Guild's 50th
anniversary celebration. She created a program for elementary schools
that introduced students to the mathematics and craft of weaving.

In 1996, she moved to Springhouse, an independent-living facility in
Jamaica Plain. There she transformed lobby space into an art gallery
and organized many different exhibits by Boston artists and
Springhouse residents. Because of her creative efforts and talents,
the mayor of Boston asked her to organize a senior art exhibit that
was displayed at Boston City Hall. Last year, Mrs. Conant received an
award for Community Spirit presented by the Massachusetts Council on
Aging.