Constance Diane "Coni" Childers

Constance Diane Childers “Coni” was born in Atlanta in 1948.  She graduated from Grady High School and then joined the United States Air Force. In the Air Force, she traveled to several parts of the world doing her service. She served 8 years in the Air Force, stationed at Andrews AFB among many others.  Coni loved the military and her military career, serving her country proudly.  

Coni attended the University of Maryland as part of her college education, specializing in graphic arts and technical drawings. She was a technical illustrator after her military duty, and loved the specialty of the precise drawing required. She also was quite an avid free hand artist, loving mostly to work in pen and ink. 

In 1981 Coni met her soul mate Joanne and the rest, as they say, is history.  Coni and Joanne loved every minute of life that God provided, helping others, volunteering for great organizations throughout the years, cooking and baking for those in need, helping anyone that needed help and working with Happy Tails Pet Therapy for several years, Special Olympics and more.  Coni loved all animals and especially loved volunteering for Atlanta Lab Rescue, which she did for 10 years. She also was a supporter of Cat Rangers in Buford, Georgia. Having her own menagerie over the years of cats, dogs, kittens and puppies, life was never dull. Coni especially enjoyed her time with Mitch, a special rescue dog that loved to play soccer with her.

Coni and Joanne loved vacationing at the beach, many times with family. They couple took a special trip to Italy with “The Nine Ladies” which turned out to be a trip of a lifetime! Such a blessing to see new parts of the world, Coni took it all in and loved the espresso and Italian desserts! They enjoyed a memorable trip to San Antonio Texas with Joanne’s family and rode the range in Bandera Texas for nearly 5 hours! Then a huge Texas cook out with the family and amazing times exploring another part of the Country. Coni loved her life and didn’t want it to end…she was having too much fun.

Most everyone that ever met Coni would say that she was the sweetest person they ever knew, she was kind and gentle and always helpful.  The couple has an antique booth in Buford and loved to go picking and try on any hat or cap, helmet or other head apparel they could find. A perfect day was a Starbucks Triple Vente Latte, a slice of lemon loaf, picking for hours and then a great Georgia BBQ joint off the beaten path.  And while Coni was usually on the shy side, when picking she was a lion and she loved talking to fellow pickers, learning more and always looking for new treasures.

Speaking of collecting, Coni was an avid PEZ collector among other vintage toys from the 1950s to current day. She had well over 1,000 PEZ Dispensers in her treasured collection, some from around the world. If a PEZ display was getting low, she’d ask if she could have the display for her own collection! She was never denied.  Coni started collecting PEZ to keep up with her sister in law Debbie, and her love of antiquing. The first PEZ Coni purchased was Garfield the Cat. I think she paid $2 for it! She also loved to collect Coca-Cola memorabilia of all sorts.

Coni very much enjoyed reading, crossword puzzles, riding her bicycle and golf. While many of those became difficult to do in later years, earlier in life she was an amazing track athlete, basketball player, loved to play softball and was an amazing bowler too! She loved her hummingbirds and other bird watching, feeding and nesting activities her in backyard. 

Coni was, on Earth, an amazing example of what we humans should be! She, coupled with Joanne, were an admirable team that shared a deep, soulful love over the eternities. Humor always played a big part, even to the end. As illness crept to the door, the couple continued to live each day to the fullest, commenting “We need to be like Gumby” – flexible! That was the key to continued happiness and success to the end. Coni’s last wish was to be at home with Joanne, her dogs and cats and thankfully, that is what God had in mind too!

If you knew Coni, you now know you have a powerful Angel in Heaven watching over you! To say she will be missed here on Earth doesn’t even come close…Fly High Sweet Kitten!

To honor Coni and her memory, do something nice for someone you don’t even know. If you like, please feel free to support her favorite rescue groups:

Atlanta Lab Rescue - www.atlantalabrescue.com

Cat Rangers – www.catrangers.com

or any great group that helps the helpless…And when you think of Coni, just remember her sweet smile…It was the best!